Time-travelling adventures of the next gen db gang
by Yet Another DB Fanfic Author
Summary: 3 years after the last Tenkaichi Boudukai in DBZ, peace reigns. Son Gohan is a scholar and currently working on an experimental portal-based time machine, when it accidentally transports Trunks, Goten, Marron, Pan, Bra and #17 to an unknown dimension...
1. Index, Intro & Chapter 1

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
(this is a temporary title)  
  
index, introduction & chapter 1  
  
***Note: Some chapters will actually contain multiple chapters, because of the new chaptering system. So the ff.net's 'chapters' can be thought of as posts, i.e Chapter 1 is the first post, and so on.  
  
What if...  
* Mirai Trunks wasn't the only one with access to time travel?  
* Son Gohan was the only Saiyajin warrior left?  
* #17 and #18 had never been turned into cyborgs?  
* Pilaf got to rule the world?  
* A slightly different wish was made on Nameksei?  
* I lumped all these, and more into one story...?  
  
This is my version of a DB TNG (The Next Generation, i.e Trunks, Goten, Marron, Pan and Bra) fic, with #17 dragged in too ^_^ This fic still doesn't have a proper title, some chapters still float around (I don't know where to put them), and I'll really appreciate some C+C. Those made available below are still in order. Info on this story:  
  
Length: will span quite a lot of chapters.  
  
Time: 3 years after the end of DBZ.  
  
Timelines: 1, 2 and x.  
  
Characters:  
  
  
Trunks:  
21 years old, fresh graduate with a bright future and no worries. (He is expected to take over Capsule Corp eventually, but for now Bulma wants him to start from the bottom.)  
  
Goten:  
20 years old, final year in college. Rather aimless, unlike Trunks. Pretty much happy-go-lucky.  
  
Marron:  
17 years old, high school student. A serious and dedicated student, the kind you'd elect as a prefect, class monitor or club president. No boyfriends yet.  
  
Pan:  
7 years old, first year in primary school. Tomboyish and likes to fight.  
  
Bra:  
8 years old, primary school student. She and Pan are friends, though not best friends like Trunks and Goten. Vegeta's spoiled brat ^_^  
  
#17:  
Still the same as he was the last time we saw him. Lives in the woods as a woodcutter/hunter, goes to visit his sister's family in Kame Island now and then.  
  
Other characters:  
Goku, Gohan, Bulma, Vegeta, Mirai Trunks and other characters will be around too.  
  
Villain:  
Not sure yet...  
  
Available chapters: (i.e on my website - http://www.geocities.com/shard00/series/untitled/)  
Index Introduction Chapter 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,... more chapters to come soon.  
  
On to the introduction  
  
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THE TIME-TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT-GEN DB GANG (AND #17)  
  
What if...  
#17 and the next generation Z warriors had an adventure? A time-travelling adventure?  
  
Introduction  
  
Three years have passed since Goku flew off with Uub in the final episode of DBZ. Son Gohan is now a scholar and is married to Videl. Pan is now 7 years old and has just started school. Gohan is working on a paper to prove the possibility of time travel. (Of course all of the DBZ gang knows that, but other great scientific minds do not.) In order to prove his theory of time travel, Gohan is very busy working on an experimental time travel device, with some help from Bulma. Gohan is so close to getting it done, he spends so much time working on it he didn't realize he hadn't paid much attention to his family lately...   
  
Trunks is now 21 years old; a fresh college graduate. His mother expects him to take over Capsule Corp., but she also expects him to start from the bottom. As yet, he is still enjoying himself and has not started working yet. Goten is struggling through his finals in college, but he's not too bothered about his grades and is quite the happy-go-lucky type. Bra is a year older than Pan, but even at that age it was apparent that she's inherited her father's body size so she's no bigger than Pan. She is also Vegeta's favorite child.  
  
Marron is 17 years old and is a high school student. #17 is still living as a hunter/woodcutter. Kuririn and #18 are still happily married. In fact, they are currently on their second honeymoon. So #17 is living with Marron and Kamesennin on Kame Island for the time being.   
  
And now, the story begins...   
  
Next: How it all began  
  
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Chapter 1: How it all began  
  
Videl thinks that Gohan is spending an unhealthy amount of time working on his latest project. His thick glasses just keep getting thicker. He looks even geekier than Dr. Briefs ever did. This simply won't do. So Videl decides to throw a surprise party for him so he could spend some time with his family and friends, relax and have a bit of fun.   
  
She invites Goten, Trunks, Bra, Marron, #17 and Kamesennin. She also informed ChiChi who set out to shop for food immediately. Bulma and Vegeta said they'd come over later because Bulma had some business to take care of at Capsule Corp. (Bra has already flown off to Gohan's place.) Goku couldn't make it because he was just home last week and Uub was a little bit behind in his training. Piccolo wasn't invited (poor guy) since Videl didn't know how to contact him. And it's not like he was ever the life of any party anyway, even if he was Gohan's mentor. Mr. Satan also couldn't make it because he was busy with endorsement deals with various health products. Even 20 years after he became Earth's hero by defeating Cell (or so the people of Earth thought) he was still very influential.   
  
Now everybody was there, except for ChiChi who was still stuck in traffic jam in Satan City, Bulma and Vegeta (but they're expected to be late) and Kamesennin. He was still stuck on his favourite aerobics show on TV and told #17 and Marron to go first.   
  
While everybody was busy preparing for the party, Gohan suddenly emerged from his lab, shouting "Eureka!!!" He saw Videl and kissed her passionately, oblivious to everybody else in the room. #17, Marron, Trunks and Goten stared in surprise, Bra giggled and Pan was red with embarrassment. Videl was so happy to get her Gohan back, she completely forgot about the party she's planned and had her own private party with Gohan in the bedroom...   
  
So there goes the party. Pan was still embarrassed to see her parents kissing in front of everybody. They never even kissed in front of her before. Red-faced, she ran to her father's lab, and saw his new device. The others finally noticed and followed her to the lab.   
  
Pan was holding a metal rectangular box. It was the size of half a shoe box. There were some wires, meters and various buttons on it, but a big red button on top was the most prominent. She looked at the thing with curiosity. "I wonder what would happen if I push this red button," she thought, and she did it. At that moment Marron went in, followed by #17.   
  
"Pan, I don't think you should..." Marron said but she was too late. As soon as Pan pushed the red button, a portal opened swallowed the three of them!   
  
By now, Trunks, Goten and Bra had just entered the room too, and they too were sucked, as the portal got bigger and bigger. But luckily it didn't grow indefinitely. 15 minutes later the portal finally dissipated and everything was left just as they were before. Except, of course, 5 kids and 1 android are now missing...   
  
Next: Where in time are #17, Trunks, Goten, Marron, Bra and Pan?  



	2. Chapters 2-4

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapters 2,3 & 4  
  
Chapter 2: Where in time are #17, Trunks, Goten, Marron, Bra and Pan?  
  
Pan blinked. She remembered playing with her father's new device (the one he was working on all the while he was forgetting about his family). And suddenly she was in this strange land. It was rocky and bare, and the earth was shaking violently. She could feel a familiar ki nearby. It was very strong, as though the person was in the middle of a battle. "Uh oh," she thought. "What have I done..." Before she could do anything else, Marron and #17 suddenly appeared too.   
"Pan! What have you done? Where are we?" Marron asked. Pan couldn't answer. She felt like crying and trying hard not to. She was feeling bad for playing with her father's work. "What if I ruined it?" she thought. Her father had worked so hard on it. He'd be mad if it was broken.   
  
Meanwhile the earth still shook. Before she could do anything, #17 carried both girls and floated in the air while waiting for the land to become stable again. Pan promptly freed herself from #17's arms. She could fly by herself just fine.   
  
"You feel that, Pan?" #17 asked her. "Yeah, it's from there," She pointed to the origin of the ki. #17 nodded, Marron still holding on tightly to his uncle. Of the whole lot, she's the only one who can't fly.   
  
"Come on, let's go," #17 said, flying to the direction of the ki, followed by Pan.   
  
They landed on the ground and found themselves face to face with Trunks! Trunks stared at them in horror. In particular he was staring at #17 in horror. #17? Impossible! He already killed both #17 and #18. How could he be alive again? When he got over his shock, he noticed the 2 girls with #17. He's got to save them!   
  
"#17! Let them go!" He yelled while turning into a Super Saiyajin and preparing ki attack on his hands.   
  
Pan and Marron were staring at Trunks too. He was wearing a black tightfitting outfit covered by white armor, gloves and boots. That wasn't what he was wearing a minute ago. And he was acting real strange.   
  
"Trunks! What's gotten into you? Don't you dare hurt my uncle. And why are you wearing that strange outfit?" Marron stepped forward and asked.   
  
Trunks blinked, confused. How did that girl know his name? He's sure he's never seen her before. And WHAT did she just call #17?   
  
#17 finally figured out what was happening. He decided to get a word in before Trunks started to attack.   
  
"Trunks, wait. Listen. I'm #17 from the past you visited. I'm not evil anymore. This is my niece Marron, #18 and Kuririn's daughter." He pointed to the blonde girl. "And this is Pan, Son Gohan's daughter." He pointed to the black haired girl. "For some reason we've crossed dimensions," he looked at Pan with a slight frown. Pan looked like she was about to cry, and looked down in shame.   
  
Trunks was so shocked, he dropped out of Super Saiyajin mode. But before he got the chance to get over his shock, another one came in the form of a young Goku (with a different hairstyle), a very young Bulma, and the mirror image of himself (wearing different clothes). The three figures suddenly appeared in front of himself, #17, Marron and Pan. This time Trunks' jaw just dropped and his eyes bulged in the classic shocked pose (or like plenty of GT Trunks pictures the author has seen ^_^).   
  
The three newcomers got up and dusted the dirt from their bodies. (They had landed with their butts on the ground.) Goten turned to his niece. "Pan! What have you done?!" Pan felt really small now. Everybody's mad at her. And they were right. This was all her fault.   
  
#17 cleared his throat. "Ehem... Trunks, Goten, Bra, meet Mirai Trunks. Mirai Trunks, meet Goten, Goku's younger son, Trunks and his sister Bra."   
  
Next: Exchanging news  
  
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Chapter 3: Exchanging news  
  
The introduction, and initial shock over with, Mirai Trunks finally asked, "How did you guys get here?" Everybody turned to look at Pan. Red-faced, she told them about her father's work and what she had done. When she finished, Mirai Trunks looked at the group thoughtfully. "Time travel eh? I've still got my time machine, but it can only take 1 person at a time and it takes a long time to recharge it after use. Come with me. Maybe Mom can do something."   
  
They flew back to Capsule Corp. On the way, #17 asked Mirai Trunks, "By the way, Trunks, what were you doing just now?"   
  
"Oh, I just killed Cell," Mirai Trunks answered.   
  
"Cell?" Marron interrupted. She was sitting on #17's back. "In our timeline, Mr. Satan killed him."   
  
The others chuckled. "What?" Marron demanded.   
  
"Actually, Pan's dad killed him, Marron," Trunks (from Marron's timeline) said.   
  
Marron pouted. How come everybody knew about this except for her? "My parents never tell me anything," she grumbled silently to herself. "When we get back, I'm going to make them tell me everything, and maybe teach me how to fly too," she thought to herself.   
  
"Well, in this timeline, people believed he killed #17 and #18 too," Mirai Trunks said. Some things never change, he thought, smiling to himself.   
  
"Oh... you mean Grandpa is around here too?" Pan asked.   
  
"Grandpa?"   
  
"That's right, Trunks. Mr. Satan's daughter married Gohan in our timeline," Goten said.   
  
"Umm... Why did Mr. Satan kill #17 and Marron's mum?" Bra asked.   
  
Mirai Trunks looked at her. She really did look just like his mother. This Trunks is lucky to have both parents around, and a sister too, he thought. "Well, in this timeline, they were programmed by Dr. Gero to kill everybody," he said.   
  
#17 looked away, thinking how close he and his twin sister had come to being mindless killing machines. He didn't really understand how, but somehow that programming was erased after he was absorbed by Cell. As for his sister... that bald monk must've had a very big influence on her. At least there was a silver lining to Cell's arrival to their timeline. Marron looked at her uncle wonderingly. She couldn't imagine her uncle and her mother as killing machines. But then, there were so many things about their past that neither she nor they know about. "I wonder how their lives would be if Dr. Gero hadn't captured them and turned them into cyborgs," she thought. "They'd look older, for one thing." Both her mother and her uncle never really aged. Now that she's nearly 17, she looked the same age as her mother and people always mistook them for sisters. In a few more years, she'd look older than her own mother. She did not like the thought very much.   
  
"Here we are," Mirai Trunks said. They looked down from the sky into the Capsule Corp. building. It didn't look very different from the one in their own timeline, except that many parts were clarly damaged and under reconstruction.   
  
They landed in front of the front door. "Stay here." Mirai Trunks said. "I'll get Mom. I don't want her to get a bad shock when she sees you guys," he said, leaving them there and went in to get his mother.   
  
"Mom! I'm home," Mirai Trunks called out. Mirai Bulma smiled and hugged her son. "Trunks, you're back. How did it go?" she asked.   
  
"Perfectly. I had no problems getting rid of Cell," Mirai Trunks answered, returning his mother's hug.   
  
"Mom?"   
  
"Yes, son?"   
  
"I brought home some guests."   
  
"Guests? Well, let them in. Where are they?"   
  
"Umm... they're not from this timeline. Don't be shocked when you see them." He then told her about what happened just after he killed Cell. After his short recap of the events in the previous chapter, they both went to the front door to welcome their guests.  
  
Next: Night in the Mirai Capsule Corp.  
  
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Chapter 4: Night in the Mirai Capsule Corporation  
  
Mirai Bulma stared at the group of 6 in front of her. Even after what her son had told her in advance to prepare her, she was sitll shocked. Right there in front of her stood the evil android #17. Well, he's not evil anymore, she reminded herself, though she couldn't help but feel nervous being so close to him. And the children... This Trunks looks just like her son, though his features were not hardened by years of suffering. And Bra was so pretty! Just like her when she was that age, she thought (vainly ^_^). She smiled to think that in another timeline she and Vegeta would actually get married, settle down and have another child together.   
  
She smiled at the other children in the group. Goten really looked just like his father. If he'd had the same hairstyle she wouldn't have been able to tell them apart. Pan the tomboy, was Gohan's daughter, and Marron! She couldn't believe it when Trunks told her that Kuririn had married #18. Well, here was their daughter right in front of her. She certainly looked a lot like her father, and had her mother's hair and figure.   
  
"Welcome! Come in," she welcomed them in after she got over her shock. Trunks and Bra couldn't help staring at this woman, who in this timeline was their mother. She did look like their mother but older, even though she should be younger. She was just as beautiful nevertheless.   
  
Soon, everybody settled down and made themselves at home. They had a small dinner (by Saiyajin standards, because Bulma had enough only to feed 1 Super Saiyajin). But other than that everybody was happy as they traded stories. Bulma and Trunks' guests told them about Majin Buu and how Goku had been able to live again in their timeline. Mirai Trunks told them about his life and what happened after his trip to the past. Trunks and Goten listened attentively. They didn't believe it when Gohan told them the story when they were little, until they'd seen his world for themselves. And here they are face to face with Mirai Trunks himself. The girls just listened open-mouthed, as they've never heard anything about this before. #17 loked uneasy being in a world where the counterparts of himself and his sister had caused so much suffering. But Mirai Bulma went to him smiled to him. "I understand you and your sister were as much victims as we were, #17," she said. "But I'm glad you're able to have freedom and happines in your timeline. Your niece seems to adore you." She looked at Marron who was still hanging on to Mirai Trunks' every word. #17 followed her gaze and smiled. He adored his niece too. And he was amazed that Mirai Bulma and Mirai Trunks could still be kind to him even after all that his alternate counterpart had done to them. He smiled back at her akwardly.   
  
It was late at night when they finally addressed the problem at hand, namely how to get their guests back to their own timeline. Pan and Bra werre asleep upstairs while the rest of the group discussed their situation in Bulma's lab.   
  
"Portal-based time travel device, huh?" Mirai Bulma said. Goten and Trunks told her what little they knew of Gohan's and Bulma's project and how the device suddenly opened a portal that just sucked them right in.   
  
Mirai Bulma was thoughtful. "My initial experiments were based on such concepts too. But I decided that using portals was too dangerous as it was very difficult to control their size and how long they can stay open. They also tend to suck other things in the vicinity into them. Which was what happened to you all. Actually, time travel in itself is very dangerous no matter what method you used as any little act you did in the past could change the future in unpredictable ways, effectively creating new timelines like yours. That's why the number of time travellers should be minimised, and that a time traveller should minimise his contact as much as possible with the other worlds he visits." She looked meaningfully at her son, who smiled sheepishly. "Which was exactly what my son DIDN'T do. I told him to just give the medicine to Goku and leave immedeately, not go and destroy Freeza's fleet then stay and chat with Goku and your parents. He could easily have nullified his own, I mean yours, Trunks (she pointed at Trunks) existence! And then--" "Well, they're here now, so no harm done," Mirai Trunks managed to cut in. Mirai Bulma glared at him for interrupting, but smiled again. She couldn't really stay mad at him for long. And she had no way of knowing that just giving Goku the medicine wouldn't have changed their own timeline. It was only after Trunks returned from his first trip to the past to their own world where nothing changed that she realized that her theory about alternate timelines was correct. What nobody knows now is what the effects of new timelines would be. If there are an infinite number of universes that can be created from time travel, what will the effects of crossovers be? Will it cause them to eventually converge into one? And what would be the effects of that? The possibilities are incalculable. Bulma could just imagine all the versions of Freeza, and Gokus who never bumped their heads, and Vegetas who never lost to Goku, not to mention Gero's cyborgs and all the enemies they've encountered in the past. "Anyway, time portals are very dangerous. Not only that, they are highly unstable and waste a lot of energy."   
  
"That was why I constructed the time machine. With it I could ensure that only the intended traveller gets to travel to the past. Or so I thought," she said, remembering Cell.   
  
"I don't suppose you could send us back one by one using Trunks' time machine," Goten said.   
  
"I'm afraid not." Mirai Bulma said. "The machine takes approximately a year to recharge after a two-way trip through timelines. It takes too much resources for even 1 trip and we're rather low on resources here. And 6 trips through timelines will definitely exhaust the machine. It wasn't designed for more than 2 trips."   
  
"What about the one Cell took?" Mirai Trunks asked. "I think I left it in the past since I can't find it anywhere here. With it, we'll just need 3 trips. I'm sure you can modify the machine for one more trip."   
  
"Umm.. that machine was accidentally destroyed when we cleaned mom's old capsules..." Trunks said, exchanging a quick glance with Goten.   
  
"So what can we do?" Marron asked.   
  
"Looks like we'll have to stick to portals," Bulma said. "I may be able to construct a safe portal opening device to send you back home. I still have the blueprints of my early experiments. But calculating the exact timeline and designing and building the device will take some time, a few days at least." She looked at the tired faces around her. "You all look tired. I suggest we call it quits for today." Everybody agreed and they went to bed for the night.   
  
Next: Mirai Trunks' world  



	3. Chapters 5-6

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapters 5 & 6  
  
Chapter 5: Mirai Trunks' World  
  
The next day, Mirai Trunks took his guests, except for #17 on a tour of his world. #17 opted to stay at Capsule Corp. because he didn't want the populace to panic when they see him. So the 6 kids said good-bye to Bulma and flew off, Marron on Mirai Trunks' back (since he was their host). Bulma immediately set off to work on a time machine to bring her guests back home. #17 decided to make himself useful by helping with the repair work. (Most of the work was done by robots so they wouldn't freak out when they see him.)   
  
From the sky, Trunks, Goten, Marron, Bra and Pan could see how bleak Mirai Trunks' world was. What used to be cities lay in ruins. Most of the land and vegetation had been destroyed and had only begun the slow process of regeneration. There wasn't a soul for miles around. It was eerily quiet, devoid of all the activities that indicated presence of life that they were so used to in their world.   
  
Presently they came to a small human settlement. Mirai Trunks told them that these days he spent most of his time helping the people rebuild their cities. There were a number of people at the settlement, some with cranes and forklifts, others carrying bricks and pails of cement on their bare shoulders, all working as hard as they could to build their lives again. Mirai Trunks and the others landed nearby and walked to the settlement. The people stopped their work for a while and greeted Mirai Trunks. He returned their greetings and introduced his guests, but didn't tell them where they were from. They didn't press him to tell them, although many of them looked at Trunks strangely. Then Mirai Trunks joined them in their work; effortlessly carrying a ton of bricks and assembled them to build a simple house. Trunks, Goten, Marron, Bra and Pan offered to help too. Soon they were able to rebuild the small town, with enough houses for all the people, and some basic facilities such as water supply which they did by creating a dam on a nearby river. The townspeople were very grateful for their help. Their town, which would've taken months if not years to rebuild was now completed in just 1 day.   
  
They carried on in this manner for the rest of the day. At the end of the day, they were all very tired but happy. Mirai Trunks was very grateful for their help. Even with his Super Saiyajin strength he could only do so much at a time. With the 5 assorted human and Saiyajin hybrids, they got so much more done in a shorter amount of time. The assorted human and Saiyajin hybrids, on the other hand were glad to help. Seeing how hard these people's lives were made them appreciate the comforts of their home, which previously they had pretty much taken for granted.   
  
They returned to Capsule Corp. at sunset to find that #17 had prepared dinner. He told them that after doing the repair work, he went to the woods to hunt. Using his skills as a hunter, (and he was very skilled, because that's what he's been doing for a living all these years since his resurrection after the Cell games) he was able to get a big catch, enough to feed all the hungry Saiyajins. He even cooked the meat himself. It was delicious, and after a hard day's work they were all every hungry anyway and would've eaten just about anything.   
  
Bulma announced that her work was going well, but there were some complications in her calculations. She then went on to describe them in great lengths, but noticed the alarmed looks on the faces of her guests except for her son who was used to her technical ramblings. "Don't worry," she finally said. "It's just a minor setback. I'm sure I could solve that little problem and we'll send you back to your correct timeline at the correct time. I'll just need more time, another week, I think. Your parents won't even know you've been gone."   
  
Next: Pan meets Mr.Satan  
  
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Chapter 6: Pan meets Mr.Satan  
  
So Trunks and the others spent another week in Mirai Trunks' world. They spent most of their time helping the people rebuild their cities, grow their crops and distribute food, clothes, medicine, building material and other supplies where they were needed. They divided the work among themselves, with Mirai Trunks in one part, Trunks in another, Goten in another and the girls in the other, alternating between north, south, east and west. They achieved a great deal that way.   
  
Bulma decided that despite the unknown long term effects of timeline crossovers, given the length of time that they had to be here, contact with her world was inevitable. Perhaps the effects would just be contained in this world, as long as their visit was only limited to this world and not to any other world their existence here creates.   
  
Today Marron, Bra and Pan were in Ginger town. Marron was working out the plans for the rebuilding of the town, while Bra and Pan helped with the transportation, since they can fly and carry heavy loads. Unlike Trunks and Goten, Bra and Pan were not best friends. Their personalities were just too different. Yet they can get along very well with each other, as they do now. Of course, they still bickered between themselves, but it was always short-lived, as children's fights always are.   
  
It was during one of these little fights that Pan suddenly noticed someone she knew very well in her world. Mr. Satan had approached them when he saw the 2 girls fighting, and their sister or babysitter looking helplessly in the distance.   
  
"Can I help you, girls?" he asked kindly.   
  
Pan looked up when she saw her grandfather. She hadn't visited him for a long time, and she missed him very much.   
  
"Grandpa!" She cried out happily and hugged him. Mr. Satan returned her hug and looked questioningly at Pan, then at Marron. Marron smiled. "You look very much like her grandfather, you see."   
  
Mr. Satan smiled and looked at Pan again. She looked very much like her daughter, who was killed by the cyborgs 3 years ago.   
  
"What's your name, little girl?" He asked.   
  
"I'm Pan, grandpa. You know that," Pan said looking at Mr. Satan, puzzled.   
  
"That's not your grandpa, silly." Bra said, before Marron silenced her.   
  
That was right. Pan remembered Mirai Bulma saying something about being in a different dimension, that they were not really at home now, but Pan didn't really understand it. They were certainly not at home now, and she missed her parents. At least Bra had her mother here.   
  
"I'm Mr. Satan." Mr. Satan introduced himself.   
  
"We know that," Bra said, crossing her arms in a very Vegeta-esque style.   
  
"Oh." She's probably seen my picture in the news, Mr. Satan thought.   
  
"I'm Marron." The blonde girl introduced herself. "This is Bra," she pointed to the lavender-haired girl. "And that, as she just said, is Pan." She pointed to the black-haired girl who was still hugging Mr. Satan. "We were helping with the rebuilding."   
  
"That's very kind of you girls," Mr. Satan said. "I was doing the same too. Would you like to work together with me today?"   
  
"Yes, grandpa." Pan happily accepted. Mr.Satan smiled. "Come on then."   
  
To cut a long story short, the 2 little girls gave Mr. Satan quite a shock with their display of strength while Marron laughed silently behind them. But they found that Mr. Satan had helped a lot too, using his fame and fortune as the cyborgs' slayer to finance the building of homes, hospitals and schools. In gratitude the people had renamed his hometown as Satan City. Many roads and important buildings (and babies) were named after him too, to honor him.   
  
When they finished for the day, Mr.Satan presented them with his autograph, personalised especially for them. Pan was happy that day. She missed home terribly, and was glad to meet a familiar face in this unfamiliar world. Mr. Satan in turn, was happy too, to meet the little girl who reminded him so much of his beloved Videl-chan.   
  
Meanwhile, Bulma's time machine was almost ready. She was able to solve the little problem in he calculations. It was now just a matter of testing and charging the machine. Hopefully #17 and the rest would be able to return to their own timeline without any trouble. She was glad to have the children around, but they should return to their own timeline. She would miss them when they're gone.   
  
Next: Farewell, Mirai Trunks, Bulma and ChiChi!  



	4. Chapters 7-7a

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapters 7 & 7a  
  
Chapter 7: Farewell, Mirai Trunks, Bulma and ChiChi!  
  
"Good news, guys!" Bulma anounced at dinner. "I've finally completed the portal based time machine and calculated the correct time and dimension to send you back to. You can go back home tomorrow."   
  
Bra cheered. It was fun visiting this world, and she even had her mommy here, and a much nicer big brother, but she missed her papa very much. Pan was happy to get back too, but she couldn't help feeling anxious. "What's the matter, Pan?" Mirai ChiChi (Yes, Mirai ChiChi was still around in this universe. She still lived in the house she and Goku lived in the East District, alone.)   
  
"What if daddy got mad?" Pan asked, still remembering that the whole reason they were here was because she messed with her father's work. Her father seldom got mad, but when he does...   
  
"Don't worry, he won't," Mirai ChiChi answered her alternate timeline granddaughter. "Tell him I forbid him to get mad or punish you for going to visit your grandma. You have 5 witnesses here to vouch for you." Pan smiled and hugged her. Goten smiled too. His mother was his mother, even in another timeline.   
  
ChiChi was happy, but sad at the same time. Happy knowing that in another dimension, she had raised a happy family. Her Gohan had grown up to be a scholar as she had always wanted him to be, Goku was still alive, and Goten who didn't even have the chance to exist in this world had grown up to be a fine young man. But she was also sad because after this she will be alone again, and it's harder when you know what you've missed. But she's a strong woman, and will go on no matter what.   
  
The two Trunks looked at each other. "How about a little sparring session before you leave?" Mirai Trunks asked his alternate counterpart. Trunks grinned. "Thought you'd never ask."   
  
So after dinner, the two Trunks headed to the gravity room for their sparring session.   
  
Half an hour later, Trunks and Mirai Trunks emerged from the gravity room, bruises and cuts visible here and there on their bodies. Trunks was wearing Mirai Trunks' jacket and Mirai Trunks wore Trunks'. Apparently they had a good workout, and had formed an alternate counterpart bond between them, Saiyajin style.   
  
ChiChi spent the night in Capsule Corporation, since the children and #17 were leaving early the next morning. That night everybody slept late. They talked until late, knowing that they will never see each other again. Finally everybody went to bed to have a good night's sleep, glad that they met each other and sad that now they'll have to say goodbye.   
  
The next morning, Bulma got the time machine ready, while ChiChi prepared a delicious breakfast for everybody. The machine was a handheld device, similar to Gohan's but smaller and less crude. It also had the customary Capsule Corp. logo on it. It was connected to Bulma's supercomputer which calculated the correct time and dimension to send the visitors back. It also features a prominent red button like Gohan's device, used to open a portal to the other timeline. However, to ensure that nothing else is sucked by the portal, they will have to use it in an isolation room that Bulma had already constructed.   
  
So after breakfast, and when everything was ready, Mirai Trunks, Bulma and ChiChi said goodbye to #17, Trunks, Goten, Marron, Pan and Bra. They then stepped into the isolation room while Bulma worked on the device.   
  
"Send my regards to everybody," Mirai Trunks said as he shook hands with Trunks. "We will. You guys take care." Trunks replied.   
  
Mirai Trunks, Bulma and ChiChi waved their last goodbyes, and #17 and the others did the same as a portal appeared and swallowed them before slowly disappearing amidst a puff of smoke, taking them away from Mirai Trunks' world and back to their own.   
  
Next: Trunks vs. Mirai Trunks  
  
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Chapter 7a: Trunks vs. Mirai Trunks  
  
We return to the fight between Trunks and Mirai Trunks.  
  
The two Trunks entered the gravity room. The gravity level was set to 100, as they only intended to do a light workout. Mirai Trunks took off his jacket and threw it down on the floor. Trunks did the same.   
Now they faced each other. "Ready?" Mirai Trunks asked. His alternate counterpart nodded. He nodded too, and the fight began.   
  
Trunks attacked first. He charged at Mirai Trunks and threw a punch, which Mirai Trunks avoided by moving sideways. He took this opportunity to deliver his own punch, but Trunks disappeared. Mirai Trunks didn't bat an eyelid, however. He proceeded to fly up after him. Trunks was still flying up at full speed when he abruptly stopped. Not giving Trunks a chance to do the same, he put both hands together and slammed down on Mirai Trunks, only Mirai Trunks was faster. He got hit, but at the same time he managed to pull Trunks' leg, so that Trunks was slamming down the floor together with him.   
  
They crashed down the floor. Both young men got up, and faced each other. "Warmed up yet?" Mirai Trunks asked. "Yeah. You?" Trunks asked back. Mirai Trunks nodded. "Then let's have some real sparring."   
  
They both turned Super Saiyajin, causing the room to shine with the yellow aura emanated from their bodies. Immediately the two disappeared. At least that's what it would seem like if anybody was watching. They were still there, only their movements were too fast for the ordinary person to see. Occasionally though, bright sparks streak across the room, sometimes followed by deafening explosive blasts, like the sound of thunder catching up with the speed of lightning.   
  
Finally they stopped. Both of them were panting heavily, their bodies wet with sweat and the bruises were starting to show. Mirai Trunks smiled as he wiped his hand over his broken lip, while Trunks had a little cut on his forehead. They sat down for a rest. "You're really good," Mirai Trunks said to Trunks. "How old were you when you reached Super Saiyajin stage?" "Eight," Trunks replied. "Hmm... a little earlier than I did," Mirai Trunks said. "I suspect though," Trunks said, "you weren't using your full strength just now. Am I right?"   
  
Mirai Trunks looked at him in the eye. "Show me the highest level you've reached," he said to Trunks. "OK." Trunks turned Super Saiyajin, his body radiating so much energy it glowed with a golden aura, much like when they started fighting a few moments ago. Mirai Trunks turned Super Saiyajin too, and matched his level. "Is that it?" he asked. Trunks didn't reply. He seemed to concentrate hard on something, then his chi got stronger, and his body grew bigger, until his shirt was torn. He stopped soon, however and allowed himself to go to the previous level. Mirai Trunks looked in awe. "You've reached that stage." "Yeah, " Trunks smiled ruefully. "The first time I did, I fought dad and he beat the crap out of me while in the regular Super Saiyajin mode."   
  
Mirai Trunks smiled. "Yeah. You get all the strength, but you lose your speed. That's the lesson I learnt when I fought Cell in that stage," he said, remembering the fight. "Anyway," Trunks said, "I've never gone beyond that. But I think you have." He looked at Mirai Trunks in the eye. "Show me."   
  
"Very well." Mirai Trunks clenched his fists and concentrated. His chi grew stronger, and bright sparks of light flared round his already glowing body. He was now in the second level Super Saiyajin form.   
  
Trunks watched in awe. "How do you do it?" he asked. "If it was just strength, I think you could do it too," Mirai Trunks said, powering down. "When I saw Gohan reach it when we fought Cell, I figured it needed a trigger to let all the energy out. Anger was the easiest one in that situation. So when I got back here I trained hard. I also deliberately let myself become overwhelmed by anger. I went to the ruins of the cities destroyed by the cyborgs and thought of all the friends I lost. I drowned myself in anger till I got mom really worried, but finally I did it."   
  
"So you killed Cell and the cyborgs in the second form?" Trunks asked.   
  
"As it turns out, my training in the Room of Spirit and Time got me strong enough to defeat them in the ordinary Super Saiyajin form. But I still had to be careful, especially with Cell. He's a sneaky bastard, that one. But he's gone now, and we can finally start living in peace."   
  
"Mmm.." Trunks agreed. In his mind, he's determined to reach that level too. He bent down as picked up his jacket. He looked at it and threw it at Trunks. "Keep it as a souvenir," he said. Mirai Trunks smiled. "Thanks," he said, picking up his own jacket and gave it to Trunks. "Same to you." Trunks smiled back at him and nodded his thanks. They embraced, and walked out of the gravity room together.   
  
Next: End? 


	5. Chapters 8-10

  
THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
End?, Chapter 8,9 & 10  
  
End?  
  
End? Hell, no. The real adventure's just about to begin. Will our heroes make it home safely? Keep on reading to find out, but before that let's see how their parents are doing back in their own timeline.  
  
Next: The abandoned party  
  
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Chapter 8: The abandoned party   
  
Meanwhile in the original timeline...  
  
"Anybody home?" Bulma and Vegeta had arrived to find the party had not started yet. In fact, nobody was home.  
  
Vegeta grumbled. "Great. They invite you over, then don't prepare the food."  
  
Something came spinning out of the sky and landed on the front lawn. It was the little turtle with Kamesennin sitting on top, looking quite green. He staggered from the turtle's back and threw up in the nearby bushes.  
  
After he had finished emptying his stomach, the old kungfu master of the Kame School of martial arts turned to the little turtle. "Thank you, little turtle. You don't have to pick me up later. I'll go home with Marron and #17." After the turtle left, Kamesennin grumbled to himself about having to ride a turtle, having no transport since Kuririn and #18 had taken their plane on their honeymoon and the other was used by Marron and #17 to come here. Then he caught sight of Bulma and Vegeta.  
  
"Oh, hi Bulma." The woman was still lovely, even after all these years. How he'd love to touch her, but of course he didn't dare. Not with Vegeta around. "Hi Vegeta. So where's the party? I brought some sweets, but I accidentally threw up on them, so I threw them away."  
  
A car came sppeding and halted abruptly inches away from the front door. ChiChi came out carrying loads of foodstuff. "Oh, hi Bulma, Vegeta, Kamesennin. Sorry I'm late. Caught in traffic jam in Satan City, you see. I'll get the food ready in no time."  
  
They went in. ChiChi noticed that the table hadn't been set yet. "Where are the kids? They're supposed to set up the table. And where's Videl? This party was her idea. It's not like her to do things halfway."  
  
Presently, Gohan and Videl emerged from their room. They were both wearing only their robes. Gohan saw his mother and their three guests and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry guys. Videl said she had a surprise party prepared for me." He turned to Bulma. "But we really do have a reason to celebrate. I did it! I proved the possibility of time travel. I even got the experimental time travel device completed."  
  
Bulma beamed. "Congratulations, Gohan. I knew you could do it."  
  
Videl put her arms around Gohan and kissed him. "Yes. All that hard work paid off in the end. My Gohan is a genius." She looked around, noticing the kids weren't there. "By the way, where are the kids? They were supposed to set up the table and put up some decorations."  
  
Bulma shrugged. "Haven't seen them. Maybe they went out to get something. Can I see the device, Gohan?"  
  
"Sure. I have it in my lab. As I said, it's only expermental. It works by opening a portal to another timeline. I haven't tried it out yet, since from my calculations it can take subjects to the past or future but I don't know if it can bring them back. As soon as I determine that it can safely bring test subjects back here safely, I'll start testing it. In the meantime I want to set the time to which it will be sent. I haven't done that yet. Only after I do these two things will I really test it with live subjects. Wouldn't be able to bring them back otherwise--"  
  
He stopped when he saw the door to his lab open. Everything was as he left them, except for the experimantal time travel device. The activator button was depressed, meaning it had been used...  
  
And suddenly Gohan knew where #17 and the kids were. Or rather he knew why they weren't here, but not where or when in time they were...  
  
He paled. "Kami sama... What have I done?" Gohan whispered to himself.   
  
Next: The wish  
  
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Chapter 9: The wish  
  
"What?!!" Vegeta's veins threatened to burst; they popped up visibly on his forehead. Bulma tried to calm him down, but she was rattled too at the thought of her children lost in some unknown dimension with no way of coming back.  
  
Gohan slumped in his chair, his face in his hands. This is all my fault, he thought. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to Pan.  
  
ChiChi had fainted upon hearing the news. Videl took her mother-in-law to her room and put her to bed. She returned to where the others were and hugged Gohan, her eyes pleading. "Isn't there anything you can do to bring them back?"  
  
Gohan shook his head. "Not unless I know exactly the time and dimension they're in. Even if I do, I'm not certain I can get them back."  
  
Bulma's mind raced, thinking of all possible ways to bring the children back, but she knew Gohan was right. There are an infinite number of universes possible with time travel, and calculating the most possible one would be a monumental task, not counting finding a way to bring them back safely.  
  
Kamesennin cleared his throat. "Why don't we use the Dragon Balls to wish them back?"  
  
The two couples stared at him. Of course! They hadn't thought about the Dragon Balls. "Kamesennin, you're brilliant! I'll get the radar and we can start searching immediately," Bulma said, hopeful again.  
  
As if on cue...  
  
The sky suddenly darkened. In the middle of a fine sunny day, that could mean only one thing. Someone's using the dragonballs to make a wish. The five people stared at the sky for a moment. Then, "I thought only you had the Dragon Radar," Vegeta said to Bulma. "No," said Bulma weakly. "I'm not the only one. The Red Ribbon Army used to have one, and so did Pilaf..."  
  
"Well, the Red Ribbon Army is gone," said Gohan, "so that leaves only Pilaf. Shenlong can grant three wishes. Maybe we can ask him to let us have one wish."  
  
"Actually, we have to stop him," Bulma said. "I'll bet he's trying to wish to be the ruler of the world again."  
  
At that moment, Goku suddenly appeared. "Hi guys! I saw the sky darken and thought you're making a wish. I came to see what's up."  
  
"It's not us, Goku," Bulma said. "But we need to make a wish. Could you teleport us to whoever it is that's making the wish."  
  
"Sure," Goku said, putting two fingers on his forehead as he concentrated to locate the dragon's ki. When he found it he teleported himself and the others to it. They disappeared from Goku's house--  
  
--and appeared right in front of Shenlong. "What is your second wish?" Shenlong asked to the three people in front of him. One is a woman with long black hair, another a doglike creature and the third one was a short blue imp. They stared at the newcomers in shock.  
  
"Go on sire, make your wish," Shuu whisperd to Pilaf. "We'll cover you." To Goku and the rest he said," Halt! In the name of Emperor Pilaf." But Pilaf was staring at one person in particular from the group. "It's him," he muttered to himself. "The boy who always foiled my plans for world domination. Now he's a grown-up and he's going to stop me again. I can't remember his name but I wish... I wish..."  
  
"Hah!" said Vegeta, slightly peeved because Pilaf was so scared of Goku and completely ignored him. He stepped in front of Goku. "It is I, Prince Vegeta whom you should fear, and nobody is my emperor. Now hand over the--"  
  
"I wish he were a kid again so I can defeat him!" Pilaf said, closing his eyes in anger and pointed to Goku. But as he was a short little imp, his finger didn't point high enough.  
  
"Granted!" proclaimed Shenlong. "Now name your third wish."  
  
"--dragon balls or--" Vegeta wondered why his voice suddenly sounded different.  
  
Continued on the next chapter...   
  
Next: Chibi Vegeta!  
  
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Chapter 10: Chibi Vegeta!  
  
And why was everybody staring at him?  
  
"I said..." he tried again. His voice still sounded strange. Like a little kid's voice. That's it. He looked down at himself. He was a little kid again, wearing the kiddie-sized Saiyajin costume, complete with cape, armor and scouter. Vegeta was dumbfounded for a while. Then he got mad.  
  
"What is your third wish?" Shenlong asked again.  
  
Pilaf was still staring at Vegeta, who had turned into a little kid, and Goku who was still an adult. "No..." He grumbled. "That's not what I wished for. I wish..."  
  
"You!" Vegeta yelled at Pilaf. "Turn me back to an adult this instant, or else." His ki started to rise. Eventhough he's a kid again, his power level wasn't affected.  
  
"Vegeta, wait!" Bulma screamed, but it was too late.  
  
"Granted!" Shenlong's voice boomed. "Your three wishes have been granted. Goodbye." And with that the magical dragon disappeared, the dragon balls scattered all over the earth, and the sky was bright again.  
  
Vegeta was now in his adult form again. Everything was as it was before, except for one thing. "How dare you ruin my wishes." Pilaf said angrily. "Guards! Arrest these people!" he commanded to his two bodyguards. Of course, with just a flick of Vegeta's finger, both guards were down, unconscious.  
  
"No..." Pilaf moaned, starting to feel really scared of Vegeta now. "You can't do this. I'm your emperor. I wished it and the dragon granted my wish. You have to obey me..." he whimpered.  
  
"I told you," Vegeta said dangerously. "I am Prince Vegeta of the Planet Vegetasei and nobody is my emperor." And with that, he picked Pilaf by the cuffs around his neck and tossed him into oblivion. Vegeta dusted his hands and faced the others.  
  
"Great. Now we have to wait another year to make the wish," Bulma said. "But you were a cute little boy, Vegeta," she smiled at her husband, who just grunted.  
  
"By the way, what were you going to wish for?" Goku asked.  
  
Gohan sighed. "Pan, Bra, Marron, Goten, Trunks and #17 are missing. They were accidentally transported to another timeline by my experimental time travel device. We were going to wish them back using the dragon balls," he explained to his father. This is all my fault, he thought again guiltily.  
  
"Really?" Goku asked.  
  
"Yes. Really." Vegeta answered, annoyed. "Try to detect their ki. It's nowhere on the planet."  
  
Goku found that Vegeta was right. There was no trace of their ki whatsoever. It was as if they had vanished from the face of the earth.  
  
"What do we do now?" Videl asked weakly.  
  
"I'll get them back, even if it will take everything I have," Gohan swore. After all, this was all his fault, and he felt responsible.  
  
"I'll help you," said Bulma. "Don't worry Videl. Goten, Trunks and #17 will take care of the girls. I'm sure they'll be fine wherever they are." She hoped she was right.   
  
Next: Will our heroes make it home safely?  



	6. Chapters 11-13

  
THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapters 11, 12 & 13  
  
Chapter 11: Will our heroes make it home safely?  
  
Trunks, Goten, Marron, Bra, Pan and #17 found themselves in a state of darkness as Mirai Trunks' world gradually disappeared. But soon they could see a dim light. It grew larger and closer to them.Finally it engulfed them in a bright light.This must be the portal, Trunks thought. Suddenly it was dark again, and a hole opened in the darkness, letting the light from outside in. "Looks like we're home, guys." Trunks said to the others and stepped outside the portal. The others followed suit.  
  
They found themselves not at home. Hundreds of men surrounded them, some armed with guns and grenades while some were unarmed but were in fighting mode, with more coming from all directions. "Surrender! In the name of the Red Ribbon Army!" One of the men yelled. Trunks blinked. He turned to Goten, who also blinked. They both shrugged and grinned mischeviously. After doing all the good works in Mirai Trunks' world, surely they're entitled to a bit of fun, right?  
  
And so the (one-sided) fight began between the two Super Saiyajin level young men and the entire Red Ribbon Army. The three girls sat at the side and watched, while eating a packet of popcorn Bra had mysteriously found there. Pan had wanted to join in, but didn't get a chance as everybody got thrashed before she got to even touch them. So she sat at the side with the others and had some popcorn too.  
  
Exactly two minutes later, Trunks and Goten emerged from the dustcloud. They looked just fine, not even a hair out of place while the Red Ribbon men lay unmoving on the ground, defeated. Trunks grabbed the popcorn from Bra's hand, but found it empty. "Hey! You finished all the popcorn!" "Well, you didn't need to fight that long." Bra shot back. "You could've finished them all in 5 seconds, but no. You had to fight for a full two minutes."  
  
"Guys," Marron said. "We're obviously not in our own timeline. What do you say we go back to the portal before it closes and we're trapped here forever."  
  
"You're right," Goten said. Indeed, the portal was still there. Maybe they had got out too soon and ended up in the wrong timeline, or maybe Mirai Bulma had miscalculated. As they started to head back to the portal, Trunks finally noticed someone was missing. "Hey, where's #17?"  
  
Indeed, where was he? They all turned and looked around but he was nowhere to be found. And as he was a cyborg he couldn't be detected using ki. Then suddenly they heard a high-pitched scream of terror, and they rushed to the source.  
  
They found #17 standing over an old man with white hair. #17's right hand was ablaze with ki he obviously intended for the already unconscious old man.  
  
"Uncle, wait!" Marron cried out. But it was too late, as #17 threw the ki ball at the old man. Thankfully, he was already unconscious, so there were no screams, although what was on the floor now was not a pretty sight.  
  
#17 turned around, a strange expression on his face, almost like pure hate. But it was there for only a second. His expression turned to normal again as he faced his niece and the others. "Don't worry, I didn't kill him," he said, his tone strangely expressionless. Marron opened her mouth to say something, but a soft whimper in the corner caught their attention.  
  
A little boy and a little girl stood huddled in the corner. Fear showed on their tear and snot-stained faces. Marron walked over to the two little children and knelt in front of them so she was at the same eye-level as them. "Don't worry. Everything's OK." she said to them kindly. "I'm Marron. What's your name?" She asked the black-haired little boy. The (cute) little boy frowned as if concentrating very hard on something before replying, "#17."  
  
Everybody (except for chibi #17 and his sister) fell over in shock. When they've recovered, Marron shakily asked the similarly cute blonde little girl. "And you are...?" Although she already knew the answer.  
  
"I'm #18," she said between sniffs.  
  
"What happened here?" Marron asked.  
  
"That bad man, he was going to hurt us again," chibi #18 said pointing to the burnt figure on the floor, "but uncle here saved us." She looked at (adult) #17 adoringly. After a bit more questioning, they found that chibi #17 and chibi #18 had been brainwashed and could remember nothing about themselves except for their numbers. #17 flew them to a nearby house, whose owners promised to try to contact their parents. Or if they couldn't, the couple were more than happy to adopt the twins. Then the time-displaced people headed back to the Red Ribbon headquarters to find the portal nearly closing. Everybody jumped back in time before it disappeared again.  
  
***  
  
Kamesennin, Yamucha, Bulma, Kuririn, Lunch, Oolong and Puaru came out of hiding when they found that the thing in the sky was only Goku, riding on the Kintoen. Goku jumped down when he saw them.  
  
"Goku!" Kuririn exclaimed. "We found out you were going to attack the Red Ribbon Army all by yourself, and we came to help."  
  
"I was going to," Goku answered. "But when I got there, the whole place was already destroyed. But I got the dragon balls." He showed them the bright orange balls he found at the ruined Red Ribbon headquarters.  
  
"Destroyed? By whom?" Yamucha wondered. "It's true." Puaru had just flown there and confirmed Goku's story. "The whole place was thoroughly destroyed."  
  
"That's really strange." Bulma said. "I wonder who did it."   
  
Next: New Timeline!  
  
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Chapter 12: New Timeline!  
  
In the darkness of the night, two figures dressed in black crept silently past the security system of the building. One of them cut the wires in the cabinet housing the security system, then gave the thumbs-up sign to his partner. "Security disabled."  
  
She nodded, and they silently crept past the guard they had previously gassed, into the ward where inmates were held. They came to a room. The woman took out a skeleton key and unlocked the door. She went in while her partner stood guard at the door. Inside the room, she approached the sleeping occupant and put her hand on the startled man's mouth. "Shh. We're here to rescue you." The old man's eyes opened wide in shock, but then he calmed down. When she was certain that he wouldn't make any noise, the woman released her gloved hand from his mouth. "Listen," she looked him in the eye and spoke in a quiet but even tone, "We're taking you out of here. Our leader wants to cut a deal with you. Do you understand me?" The old man nodded silently. "Then let's go."  
  
Half an hour later, they arrived at their secret headquarters, having successfully retrieved their target from the Western Capitol Mental Hospital. Their leader awaited them. The two figures bowed to him, with their rescuee standing between them. "Sire, we have successfully completed our mission," the woman said. They took off their masks, revealing the faces of Shuu and Mai. "Excellent." Pilaf said. "Now, Dr.Gero," he turned to the old man. "Let's talk business."  
  
Later, the silence of the night was broken by the appearence of the magical dragon Shenlong, summoned from the dragon balls and a special chant by Pilaf. "I can grant any one wish. Name your wish." The dragon said to the group of four assembled in front of him. "This is my wish," the old man said, staring at the dragon,"I wish to have my genius restored." "Granted!" proclaimed the dragon, then it disappeared and the dragon balls now turned into ordinary stones, scattered all over the planet.  
  
Pilaf and his followers cheered. "With Dr. Gero's genius we will finally rule the world!" "Congratulations!" "Long live emperor Pilaf!" Dr.Gero just smiled wickedly. "When I've created the ultimate cyborg, I'll get rid of you, and then I will rule the world." He laughed silently to himself.  
  
***  
  
One year later.  
  
"MASENKOSEPPO!" The earth shook from the impact of the blast, and where there was previously a mountain of rock, only a pile of rubble stood. Piccolo floated over to inspect his handiwork. He nodded to himself, pleased with the improvement in his trademark attack.  
  
"Piccolo," a voice in his heart said. "That's the third mountain you've destroyed today. Be careful or you'll destroy the whole place." Piccolo grunted. "Yeah, yeah." Damn that Namekkian Nail, he didn't even know his name when he agreed to fuse with him on Old Nameksei. Or it could be Kami-sama, watching him from his floating palace again. "Damn him too," he muttered to himself. "Always trying to make me 'nice'..."  
  
"I heard that!" the voice said. "Shut up." Piccolo growled. He could easily imprison Kami-sama in a bottle and throw him into the depths on the ocean and then he will rule the world again as the Demon King. But of course he wouldn't. Gohan, and Goku had changed him. As much as he tried not to show it, he has changed. But sometimes he does feel tempted...  
  
Piccolo sat cross-legged in midair and started his meditation. Even after more than 20 years he still kept to his rigid training, unlike the other Z warriors. Gohan is now married, with a child. He used to train with Piccolo, but now that he had a family and a double career, he didn't train as much although he did come to visit now and again. Waste of potential, Piccolo thought. But then again Gohan never really liked fighting. He was more comfortable studying his books but Piccolo was sure he had great power within himself, never fully tapped. He had seen glimpses of that power when they fought Radditz all those years ago, and later when they fought Freeza and his father. Gohan might even be able to become a Super Saiyajin like his father Goku. He had the potential. Piccolo actually missed Goku at peaceful times like this. But Goku is dead, and they couldn't bring him back since his cause of death was natural, a heart disease he contracted shortly after the fight with Freeza and Cold. And it was the last great fight for all of them. After Goku's death, peace reigned on Chikyuu. No evil conquering aliens or megalomaniacal locals trying to take over the world or anything like that. Well, there was Pilaf, but he was hardly a serious threat. Then there was Dr.Gero, the raving lunatic who sent out his defective cyborgs to take over the world, but they always broke down in the middle of the process, before they could do any real harm. That stopped 10 years ago, when Gero was finally institutionalised for stalking a famous rock star. But recently he's escaped, and his creations have improved significantly from the last time. But it's still nothing that the Great Saiyaman can't handle. Poor Gohan, surely he's destined for greater things than this.  
  
The rest of the Z warriors had gone their separate ways after Goku's death. Kuririn still lived with Kamesennin on Kame Island, Tenshinhan got a job as a bodyguard of a famous actress and Yamucha had a successful career as a baseball player, and now he's a coach to one of the most successful teams in the world. His marriage to Bulma though, was another matter.  
  
Piccolo opened his eyes. He's meditated for at least 6 hours now. He could go on for longer, and normally did. But for some reason his gut feelings were telling him that something big was going to happen. He didn't know what, but he feared that the peace the world is enjoying now will be threatened.  
  
High above on his floating palace, Kami-sama looked down in concern. "What is it, Kami-sama" Mr.Popo asked. "I don't know, Mr.Popo," Kami-sama answered. "But something big is going to happen to this planet. Piccolo feels it too. I don't know what it is, but we better be prepared."   
  
Next: More peeks into the new tineline: A day in the life of the Great Saiyaman.  
  
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Chapter 13: More Peeks into the new timeline: A day in the life of the Great Saiyaman.  
  
KABOOM!!! BANG!!! CRASH!!! The cyborg crashed to the ground, with the Great Saiyaman looking down from the sky. Clearly, the cyborg had sustained heavy damage from the Great Saiyaman's attacks. He managed to get up, but acknowledged the fact that he was defeated. The Great Saiyaman slowly descended to the ground and stood in front of the cyborg. He didn't move, as the cyborg finally managed to stand up. "Damn you, Great Saiyaman." the cyborg cursed. The caped hero still didn't move or say anything. He knew the cyborg was now defeated, and harmless. He didn't want to kill him if he didn't have to. The cyborg knew this too, but still he was partly human, and had his dignity to preserve. So he deliberately created a chi blast in between himself and the Great Saiyaman so the hero wouldn't see him escape. He did see, of course, but he just let it happen. The cyborg was pathetic, not worth killing even if he'd had wanted to, which he didn't. The Great Saiyaman hated violence and strives to preserve peace and harmony on his home planet. "Just you listen, Great Saiyaman!" the cyborg screamed as he flew away. "I'll destroy you one day, and the world will once again be ruled by the Red Ribbon Army under the leadership of the great Dr. Gero!"  
  
The cyborg defeated, the Great Saiyaman flew away too, cheered by the grateful humans.  
  
The caped hero landed at the front door of a small, charming house in located in the beautiful countryside. It had been his childhood home, and now his wife and daughter live here too. It was the Son house. The Great Saiyaman pushed a button on his wristwatch, and instantly he was transformed into Son Gohan, professor of philosophy and theoretical physics. Gone was the green and black costume, red cape and helmet, replaced by extraordinarily thick glasses, gray suit and tie, and matching briefcase.  
  
He opened the door. "Honey, I'm home!"  
  
"Gohan!" Videl met her husband at the door, and kissed him. "How was your day?"  
  
"It was all right. I had to fight another one of Gero's cyborgs, though. They seem to get bolder these days."  
  
"You poor soul." Videl took Gohan's coat and briefcase. "Just rest, dear. I'll get you a drink."  
  
Gohan sat down on the couch. "Where's Pan?"  
  
"She's at the back, playing with Bra." Videl disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
Gohan walked into the playroom where the girls were playing house. Pan looked up. "Daddy! You're home!" she ran to her father and hugged him.  
  
"Hi, uncle Gohan," Bra said.  
  
"Hi, Bra," Gohan answered. "What are you playing?"  
  
"We're playing house," she replied. "Wanna join us?"  
  
"Sure." So Gohan spent the afternoon playing with his daughter and her best friend.  
  
***  
  
Later.  
  
"It's getting late, girls," Gohan said. "You should be getting home, Bra. Come on, I'll send you back. I need to see your mother anyway."  
  
"Are you going to fly me home?" Bra asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Yay!" Bra cheered. She loved it when her daddy took her flying, but these days he was too busy. So she was happy to have Pan's daddy fly her home.  
  
Soon, Gohan was flying over the Western Capitol, with Bra holding on to him tightly. She enjoyed the ride, and squealed happily when Gohan made a few somersaults in the sky.  
  
They arrived at Capsule Corp and were shown in by the domestic robot. Bulma was doing some reading and Trunks was watching TV in the living room. Gohan greeted them. "Hi, Bulma. Hi, Trunks." "Oh, it's Gohan and Bra. Come on in," Bulma welcomed them. Trunks didn't turn his eyes from the TV, but he scowled.  
  
Gohan, Bulma and Bra chatted over tea. "Where's Yamucha?" Gohan asked.  
  
"Busy with the team, as usual," Bulma replied sourly. "He could spend a bit more time with his family," she grumbled.  
  
"Oh..." Gohan felt uncomfortable for bringing up a sensitive issue.  
  
"Anyway, how are you?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Oh, I've been a bit busy these days. The cyborgs seem to get bolder and stronger," Gohan replied. "In fact, I had to fight another one today, and I think I might have damaged my watch."  
  
"Let me see," Bulma said. Gohan took it off and gave it to her. "Hmm... A few screws have come loose. No problem. I'll fix it in no time."  
  
She took out a screwdriver and began taking it apart. "You know, I can't help thinking," she said. "The cyborgs were never much of a threat until recently. Specifically not till after the dragon balls were used a year ago by someone."  
  
"I know," Gohan said. "There must be a connection. They're manageable so far, but we never know. They might become uncontrollable one day."  
  
Bulma finished fixing the watch. "Yes. And you'll be our only hope," she said, handing it back to Gohan.  
  
"I could use some help," Gohan said, turning to Trunks. "How about it, Trunks? Wanna fight alongside the Great Saiyaman against the cyborgs?" Trunks ignored him. "You'll need a costume, and a code name too, if you don't want to be known," Gohan continued, seemingly unaware of Trunks' cold shoulder treatment to him. He thought for a while. "How about Lavender-mask?" Trunks grunted, muttering something like "stupid" and "crazy", and (rather rudely) left the room. "You can choose another name if you don't like it," Gohan said. Bulma and Bra sweatdropped.  
  
"I always wondered why you chose the name Great Saiyaman," Bulma said, now sitting on the couch with Bra on her lap.  
  
"I've always wondered about the Saiyajins," Gohan said, a faraway tone in his voice. "Father was the last pure-blooded Saiyajin, and also the legendary Super Saiyajin. I want to become as great as he was, and since I was the last link to my father's people, I thought it apt. Now I've got Pan, but she's more human than Saiyajin."  
  
"Father always regretted the fact that Price Vegeta died on old Nameksei, because he didn't get the chance the chance for a last fight between them. I regret it too now, a little. He was the only real Saiyajin left then, and there were so many things I want to learn about them. So many secrets. After all, I am half Saiyajin and I've lost half of my heritage with his death."  
  
"Hmph." Bulma grunted. "I'm not sorry we got rid of that monster. All the universe's better off without people like him."   
  
Next: Millionaire #17  
  
###### Thank you for your kind reviews ^_^ I've still got more chapters to go, but I'm a bit stuck at the moment. Chapter 14 is done and I'll post it soon, and I need your ideas: What will Pilaf do as Earth's emperor? 


	7. Chapters 14-15

  
THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapters 14 & 15   
  
  
Chapter 14: Millionaire #17  
  
Now back to our time-displaced heroes.  
  
The portal finally opened, dropping its occupants without warning. Fortunately, the ground where they were dropped was flat and grassy, so they landed without injury.  
  
Everybody dusted their bodies as they got up. It was in the dead of night and it was dark everywhere except for some flickers of light from the portal. Everybody looked as the lights died down. Then suddenly it brightened for a while, then dimmed down. This went on for a while, and smoke was coming out of the portal as this was happening.  
  
"Careful everybody! It might blow," Trunks warned. Everybody prepared to take cover. Finally it did blow with a "Foomp!". Fortunately the explosion was quite small and harmless. Everybody looked on as the last of the smoke blew away and everything was dark and quiet again.  
  
"I bet we're lost in time again," Marron started conversation. "Yeah," Goten agreed. "The portal didn't seem very stable. Mirai Bulma must've made a mistake. And now it's gone."  
  
"Oniichan?" Bra said. "Are we lost again? I wanna go home." Trunks looked at his sister and then at his friends. "We don't know that yet. For all we know, we are home. It's just too dark to see. I suggest we find a place nearby to spend the night and figure out where we are in the morning."  
  
"But I don't feel my father's ki or your father's." Goten remarked. "Well, maybe they're sleeping," Trunks replied. "Come on, we better find a place to sleep too."  
  
#17 interrupted everybody. "I think I know where we are." Everybody looked at him. "Really? Where?" Pan asked.  
  
"This is the woods where I live," #17 said. "My hut shouldn't be far away. Come on, I'll lead the way."  
  
By now their eyes had focused to the darkness. "You're right, uncle," Marron said. She'd been to her uncle's place a few times. "But this place looks kinda different at night."  
  
"Say..." Bra interrupted as a thought occured to her. "Is your hut big enough for the six of us? I want a room with a big bed, a shower, TV..."  
  
"Umm... I think you girls can fit in. The three of us guys will sleep outside," #17 said.  
  
"It's that small, huh?" Trunks snickered, but was cut short by the sight of a very beautiful and expensive-looking mansion. It wasn't as big as the Capsule Corp. building, but it was grand nonetheless. The owner must be a millionaire at least.  
  
The others were awed too. While everybody was admiring the beautiful mansion, #17 spoke angrily. "Hey! This is where my hut is supposed to be. Who gave the bastard, whoever he is, the right to just tear my house down and build his own house here without consulting me?!"  
  
He walked up to the front door angrily and banged loudly. "Come out now, or I'll blow up your "£$%!* expensive door to dust!"  
  
Behind him, the others were discussing this strange turn of events.  
  
"I tell you," Goten said, putting his hands over the squirming Pan's ears. "We must've landed in the future where #17's hut has been torn down to build this mansion. Isn't this land wanted by some millionaire or other who wanted to build a resort here?"  
  
"Uncle, watch your language. There are children here," Marron said.  
  
"It's no big deal, Marron," Bra said. "My parents talk like that too when they think I'm not around."  
  
"Looks like we better head straight home, then," Trunks said. "Hey, #17! You can stay with us for the night. I'm sure my parents won't mind."  
  
The door was opened by a domestic robot. It made a scan of #17, then said, in the typical robotic voice, "Scan completed. Identity verified. Welcome home, master #17."  
  
Next: XXX #18!?  
  
######################################################################  
  
Chapter 15: XXX #18!?  
  
So the time-displaced individuals spent the night in #17's luxurious mansion. The house was indeed very grand. The master bedroom was very spacious (and Bra immediately claimed for herself), and the three other guest rooms are very comfortable too. The fridge was well-stocked with food, and plenty of booze as well. They helped themselves; the domestic robot served them after it determined that they were #17's guests.  
  
The six impersonator/intruders discussed their current situation over a late night snack in the kitchen. "So... we're definitely not in our own timeline," #17 said thoughtfully, while stirring his cognac. Apparently, the owner of the mansion stocked a lot of expensive (and very tasty) drinks, and #17 approved of his taste. After all, it was still him, and in this timeline he appears to be doing very well for himself. #17 finished his drink and poured himself another. It was already his tenth bottle straight. As a cyborg, the alcohol level in his body didn't affect him very much.  
  
"Yeah," Trunks agreed, wolfing down another slice of pizza and washed it down with a swig of beer. "Looks like Mirai Bulma made some miscalculations. Our portal is gone, so in the meantime we're stuck here. I guess our only option is to see this timeline's Bulma and ask for her help. Let's hope she knows how to build a better time machine."  
  
"But shouldn't we keep our presence here a secret?" Marron asked. "Remember what Mirai Bulma said. We should keep a minimum contact with the people in other timelines because the slightest act can cause drastic changes."  
  
"I know," Trunks said. "But we don't have any choice, do we? Besides, we've already had more than a minimum contact with the people in the last timeline we were in."  
  
Goten suddenly piped up. "Hey! I've got an idea. Why don't we just wish ourselves back? We only need to find out if this world has dragonballs, then we gather them and wish ourselves back home."  
  
"Good idea!" Trunks patted Goten hard on the back, making him gag on his sandwich. "That way, we only have to borrow the dragon radar from this world's Bulma. Tomorrow I'll go to Capsule Corporation and borrow it from her, and then we can start searching."  
  
"Before we do that," Marron interrupted, "we better find out what this world is like first, how different it is from our world. That way, we won't say or do anything that might arouse their suspicions. I can go to the library to do some research first," she volunteers, "before you go to see Bulma."  
  
"OK. I don't think there'll be any problem with Bulma, but that's a good idea," Trunks said. "OK. So it's settled then." He got up. "Why don't we go watch some TV? I've been eyeing your large-screen TV, #17. And your sound system is pretty cool too. I didn't know you had such good taste in home entertainment systems."  
  
"Neither did I," #17 muttered.  
  
Everybody sat in front of the TV. #17 located the remote control and turned on the TV. A video by a rock band was playing. "Ugh, what horrible sound," #17 said, and changed to another channel.  
  
"This is the live telecast from this year's Tenkaichi Boudukai, where Mr. Satan the reigning champion has once again succeeded in defending his title. We'll be back with a word from the man himself after this break--"  
  
"Looks like some things don't change," #17 changed the channel again.  
  
"--the latest single from the most successful rock band of the year," the host of the show was saying, while in the background the band's video was playing.  
  
"It's that stupid music again," #17 said, and changed to yet another channel.  
  
"Hey, I kinda like it," Trunks said. "Yeah," Goten agreed. The girls seemed to like it too.  
  
"--Satan brand mineral water, the champion's choice!" proclaimed the advertisement on the TV, featuring Mr.Satan. #17 changed the channel again.  
  
Everybody stared in shock at the screen. Then Marron screamed and grabbed the remote control from her uncle's hand. She turned off the TV and threw the remote control away. The others didn't stop her. They were still dazed, for there on the TV screen a moment ago was #18. She was wearing a nightie and kissing a man in bed passionately. And it wasn't Kuririn.  
  
######################### Author's blurb #############################  
  
I notice the lack of reviews after Trunks & the gang left Mirai Trunks' world. I suppose this means readers prefer the story taking place in Mirai Trunks' world. However, most of their adventures will take place in this new world they're in, with some chapters in between about their parents in the original timeline and also Mirai Trunks and his world after they left. So please review, it's in these parts that I really need feedback. BTW, the next chapter takes place in Mirai Trunks' world. Coming soon!  
  
####################### End of blurb #################################  
  
Next: The mysterious entity from the other dimension  



	8. Chapter 16

  
THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapter 16  
  
Chapter 16: The mysterious entity from the other dimension  
  
Mirai Bulma was busy dismantling and putting away the devices she used to open the time portal. "Hope they made it back safe and sound," she said to herself.  
  
"Mother, I'm sending Obasan ChiChi back in a while," Trunks said. "Do you need any help in the meantime?"  
  
Bulma looked at the mess around her. She could take care of that. She knew what everything was and where they belonged. Trunks didn't. That supermainframe (it can both do many concurrent processes and do them fast) however, needed moving. And the isolation room she set up for #17 and the others needed dismantling. "Yeah," she said. "I need you to move that computer over there, and then dismantle the isolation room." That was one of the advantages of having a Super Saiyajin around the house, Bulma thought, other than the fact that they can also be handy for saving the world from powerful evil enemies.  
  
"Sure thing, Mom," Trunks said. He went to the huge computer and pushed a little button at its side. The machine instantly encapsulated. He picked up the capsule and flipped it in the air once casually before catching it in his hand. "Where do you want me to put it?"  
  
Bulma put her hand on her forehead. "Duh. How could I have forgotten that?" She smiled at her own absent-mindednes. Maybe her age was beginning to catch up after her. "Set it up over there," she said, pointing to the cleared area next to her desk where she worked most of the time. Trunks obediently decapsulated the computer and proceeded to connect the wires to their proper sockets.  
  
When he's done with the computer, Trunks walked over to the isolation room. "Is it safe to dismantle now?" he asked his mother. Bulma checked the screen on her computer. "It's been over an hour since the portal closed, so it should be safe. And there's no energy reading around the room, which indicates that the space-time around this area has stabilized to normal. I should be able to detect a huge energy emission otherwise," she said.  
  
Trunks nodded and went to the isolation room. Just as his mother said, the conditions have stabilized. When the portal opened previously, there had been some heat and light generated. Bulma had to let it subside for a while before letting their visitors from the other timeline enter the portal. It looked quite safe now. He promptly encapsulates the room and walked toward his mother. Holding the capsule between his thumb and forefinger, he was about to hand it over to her when it suddenly burst out in an explosion.  
  
Bulma screamed and shielded her face. However, she noticed the familiar sparks of light that appeared when a portal was opened. "Trunks, get away from there!" she screamed as she ran to her computer and tapped furiously on the keyboard. "How could this have happened?" she thought. "I couldn't have made a mistake."  
  
Trunks noticed the sparks of light too. He also noticed something else. Ki. A very strong one, and it felt distinctly ...evil. He could feel it, coming from the center of the explosion, even as a portal was beginning to form. "No way am I going to let some evil being destroy my world again, just as we're beginning to rebuild our lives," he thought angrily. He turned Super Saiyajin and tried to use his ki to close the portal, or at least hold it off until his mother could figure out what was wrong. Whatever was at the other side of the portal was persistent. He could feel the ki becoming stronger. The thing was very determined to get out, and Trunks had no intention of letting it. He powered up to Super Saiyajin level 2. Even then he could feel the portal growing larger, as if being forced open from the other side. He concentrated on using his energy to stop the portal from opening. Trunks realised he might not be strong enough, even as a level 2 Super Saiyajin, to fight the being inside that was trying to get out. All he could do now was try to patch up the ever growing portal and hope that his mother could do something to close it soon.   
  
Bulma was typing furiously on her computer. Her mind was on overdrive, as all sorts of possibilities entered her head. She's got to find a solution, fast. Trunks clearly doesn't stand a chance against whatever it was at the other side of the portal. He was using all his energy just to keep the portal from growing. If the thing on the other side managed to get out, he would be too weak to fight it.  
  
Figures flew on her monitor. Just as suddenly as that happened, the screen went 'hang'. "Dammit!" Bulma threw her fists on the keyboard. "This isn't the time to crash!" she yelled in frustration. Then she noticed the smell of burning wires. The computer made some 'bzzt' noises. Smoke came out of the machine and the screen went completely blank. The room was overheating from all the heat generated from Trunks, the portal and the mysterious being at the other side. Bulma realised that the other equipments in the lab would have been damaged by the heat too. And that means that there was nothing she could do to help her son.  
  
She looked helplessly at him, still holding on desperately with every ounce of energy in his body. But even Bulma could see that he was losing the fight. Then she heard him shout "HAAAA!!!!!!" as he aimed a huge Kame Hame Ha at the portal. She couldn't see anything in the resulting explosion. The room shook violently. When the smoke cleared there was no sign of the portal. Or Trunks.  
  
"No..." Bulma said weakly. "He didn't..." But what other explanation was there? Trunks had managed to close the portal, and push it, together with the being inside it, back where it came from. And, it seems, he had gotten himself pulled in together with the portal. He's gone.  
  
ChiChi ran into the lab when she heard the explosion, to find Bulma kneeling on the floor, pale as a ghost. She went to her. "What happened?" She looked around at the damaged lab. "Where's Trunks?"  
  
"He's gone," Bulma said said it calmly, but she was on the verge of histerics. "And he's never coming back." She let herself fall into ChiChi's arms and wept.   
  
Next: #17mania, Trunks vs. Piccolo and Great Saiyaman saves the day!  
(It will be quite some time before this one will be available)  



	9. Chapter 17

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapter 17  
  
### A short summary, since I haven't updated for so long...  
This story began 3 years after the end of DBZ. Son Gohan, a scholar, was working on an experimental time travel device when it accidentally transports Trunks, Goten, Marron, Pan, Bra and #17 to Mirai Trunks' world. Fortunately for them, Mirai Bulma was able to construct a similar machine to take them home, but they ended up in a different timeline instead: one where #17 was rich enough to own a mansion, #18 appears on TV, and other things different from in their own timeline which they haven't found out about yet. Back in their own timeline, their parents have realised what might have happened to them, and tried to wish them back using the Dragonballs. Unfortunately, they encountered Pilaf, and they didn't get to make their wish. And in Mirai Trunks' timeline, something strange happened after Trunks and co. left, which had something to do with the time portal Mirai Bulma had constructed for them. Now as our time-displaced heroes try to find a way back home (deciding, as their parents did - to use the Dragonballs), they discover more about the world they are in, and their role in the creation of this particular universe.   
End summary ###  
  
Chapter 17: #17mania, Trunks vs. Piccolo, and Great Saiyaman saves the day!  
  
The next day.  
  
While Marron went to the library to do her research, the others decided to go for a walk and explore this new world. They were taking a nice quiet stroll down the city when a group of girls spotted them.  
  
"Hmm?" #17 noticed that the girls got all excited when they saw their group. Trunks and Goten grinned. They have always been popular with the girls, especially Trunks. Even here, girls seem to go crazy over them, even more so than the girls in their own timeline. Trunks fixed his hair, and Goten sprayed his mouth with a breath freshener, while #17 looked at the two young men hopelessly. Bra and Pan just looked on blankly as the mob of girls rushed at them, screaming "#17!!!!!"  
  
"Wha...?" #17 turned around in shock. Why were the girls going crazy over *him*? Trunks and Goten blinked; Trunks' face was quickly turning very red. They watched in disbelief at the side, as more and more girls surrounded #17, screaming his name, fainting, and declared their love for him; generally worshipping the cyborg. #17's shock and bewilderment quickly turned into pleasure. He let the girls drag him away as he turned to face his companions. "Bye guys! I shouldn't let these girls down now, should I? I'll see you at the mansion tonight!"  
  
"I don't believe it..." Trunks muttered as he and the others looked on. Bra and Pan laughed their heads off at the two 'rejects' who promptly silenced them with a smack on the head. "So... what do we do now?" Goten asked. Trunks shrugged. "Let's see what other surprises this world has to offer." They walked further into the city.  
  
***  
  
Late that afternoon.  
  
Piccolo was having trouble concentrating. His meditation wasn't going well today. The feelings of unease have been increasing lately, and the fact that he still couldn't understand the cause bothered him very, very much. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, as he sensed something nearby.   
  
Trunks, Goten, Bra and Pan had explored the city, and beyond, and now found themselves in a desert. It was very hot, and the girls, particularly Bra, were getting tired. "Oniichan," she complained, "We've flown round the world twice over already. I'm hot and hungry and I wanna go home."  
  
"All right already," Trunks said. "Quit complaining. We're going home now," he continued, 'as soon as I can figure out where 'home' is,' he didn't say. But Bra picked it up anyway. "We're lost aren't we? WAAAHHH!!!!" she wailed. "Shut up!" Trunks demanded. "We're not lost. We're just taking an alternate route back."  
  
Suddenly, Goten stood to attention. "What's the matter, uncle Goten?" Pan asked. Trunks and Bra stopped their bickering. Goten looked around. "There!" he exclaimed. "What?" The other three asked. "Nothing," Goten said as he dashed behind some rocks. "I just need to pee." The others fell over.  
  
When they've gotten over that small shock, Bra resumed her complaining and wailing again, and Trunks resumed his stubborn stance on their direction. Pan sat down the ground and watched balefully as the verbal fight turned physical when Bra started kicking Trunks' shin. Trunks reacted by picking his sister up by her collars and held her away from him. Bra wailed louder and shook herself free. She then rushed at Trunks and tried to head-butt him. She managed to do it, but didn't achieve the desired result. Trunks didn't even feel a thing. He stuck his tongue out at her. "Yeah!!! Is that the best you can do?" he taunted, which only made Bra madder. She grabbed his arm and bit. Now Trunks was hurt, for Bra had really sharp teeth. "OWWW!!!" he cried out. "Let go!" But Bra only bit harder, so Trunks used his free arm to force her away by the neck. To an outsider, Trunks' act would seem violent, but Pan was used to seeing the brother and sister fight like that. They are, after all half-Saiyajin even if they are usually good-natured, and the offspring of Vegeta and Bulma at that.   
  
Over in the distance, Piccolo was distracted from his meditation by the commotion. He opened his eyes and looked up to see a group of three people. A young man he's never seen before and two little girls whom he recognised as the daughter of Gohan and the daughter of Bulma. What were they doing in the middle of the desert with a strange man who seemed to have a really strong ki? Then his eyes opened wide as he noticed the young man had his hand on Bra's neck.  
  
The young man seemed to notice his presence too, as he let go of the lavender-haired girl. Their eyes met, both looking at the other in surprise and suspicion. Piccolo broke contact first, looking over to Pan and Bra in concern. They seemed to be all right. "Pan, Bra, are you all right?" he asked nevertheless. He'd never be able to face Gohan if he allowed his former student's daughter to come to any harm while he was around. Pan nodded, staring at Piccolo as though she didn't recognise him. So did Bra. "Are you really Mr.Piccolo?" Pan asked, and Piccolo was taken aback. Sure, he didn't visit that often, but Pan should recognise him. After all, how many tall, bald and green aliens are there on this planet? Was it because of something this man did to her? Piccolo turned to face him. "Who are you?" he wanted to ask, but the man asked him the same question first.   
  
Piccolo eyed him suspiciously. "I am as she said," he indicated Pan. "Her question was, are you really Piccolo?" Trunks corrected. "Well, are you?"  
  
"Why shouldn't I be?" Piccolo retorted, not wanting to reveal too much to this suspicious stanger who sported a frighteningly high ki. Trunks shrugged, the Namekian certainly looked and spoke like Piccolo, but the ki signature was wrong. It felt like Piccolo, but at the same time it didn't. It was also far weaker then the Piccolo he knew, but this version of the ex-demon king may just be hiding his ki.   
  
"Who I am is not important," Piccolo retorted. "What I want to know is who are you, and what are you doing with two little girls in the middle of a desert?"  
  
"We're just taking a walk," Trunks replied. 'Taking a walk, my @$$,' Piccolo thought. 'If he doesn't want to tell, then I'll just have to make him.' He glanced at Pan and Bra. 'But first I must take these girls somewhere safe.' He walked past Trunks and snatched Pan's hand. "Come on, Pan, let's get away from here," he said in his usual harsh manner. Pan, who was still confused about this Piccolo, automatically snatched her hand away, to Piccolo's surprise, which quickly gave way to shock when he felt a firm hold on his hand which was previously holding Pan's. The lavender-haired stranger looked at him with deadly serious eyes. "Get your hands off them." he said quietly but with as much deadliness as was in his eyes. For a second, Piccolo was unnerved, but he was the ex-Demon King after all, and the Demon King will not be intimidated by a purple-haired pretty boy, certainly not! 'Not even if the guy seemed to have ki as high as Goku before he died. Gulp. And did he, just for a moment, look like a certain warrior prince? Naah... Couldn't be.'  
  
Piccolo quickly gathered his wits together. He wasn't afraid, he convinced himself, 'and if it's a fight you want,' he thought, 'I'll give you a beating such that you'll never forget the power of the (ex) Demon King.' Little did Piccolo know how utterly wrong he was. Glancing at the two little girls staring up at him, he made up his mind. The girls must not come to any harm from the fight, so he must take it somewhere far from them. Roughly, he snatched his hand away from Trunks' grip. "If you're not afraid, follow me," he challenged, and flew up to the sky. Trunks shrugged and followed him.  
  
Up in the sky, safely away from the two little girls, Piccolo braced himself. He stood still, almost casually, but inside he was as alert as though he was fighting Freeza himself. Trunks arrived and faced him. He was almost as casual as Piccolo seemingly was. Piccolo attacked first, landing a punch on Trunks' side, only Trunks moved to the side swiftly to avoid it. He knew Piccolo was just testing his speed. Behind him, Piccolo turned around and smiled. The kid's fast, and he wasn't even putting in very much effort in avoiding the attack. This would be a welcome challenge. He the flew with blinding speed towards Trunks, as if wanting to hit him again, but this time, when he was close enough to Trunks, Piccolo threw a ki blast instead. Trunks was thrown off guard when the blast hit him. He didn't have time to move away from it, so he just stood still and took it, only protecting himself with his ki. Piccolo had half-guessed it would happen, but he was still shocked to see the young man was unhurt by his ki blast. His ki shield was stronger, apparently, and it wasn't everyday that somebody came along and so effortlessly withstand the Demon King's attack.   
  
"My turn," Trunks said, and before Piccolo could do anything, the young demi-Saiyajin disappeared and Piccolo doubled over in pain as several points in his body were hit by a flurry of fists courtesy of Trunks. He only stopped when Piccolo's extended arms managed to catch his. By now, Piccolo was very much in pain. He panted, and threw down his turban and cape. The Namekian welcomed the extra agility from the release of the heavy clothing. Trunks just smirked knowingly, which infuriated Piccolo. He rushed at Trunks to hit him, but Trunks managed to avoid each one of his hits, even when Piccolo started using ki blasts. By now, Piccolo couldn't take it anymore. His curiosity was gnawing at him, not to mention his awe and fear at this stranger's power. "Who are you?" he finally asked, but Trunks wasn't giving him the satisfaction on knowing just yet. "I can't tell you yet," he said, almost apologetically, remembering his discussion with Marron and the others last night. He had his own questions regarding this version of Piccolo. He certainly looked, sounded and fought like Piccolo, but he was different somehow. Weaker, and the ki signature was different. As the young man stood there and looked at him, trying to figure him out, Piccolo did the same. He tried to use his telepathic powers to read Trunks' mind. The Namekian's eyes opened wide as images from Trunks' mind flashed through his. Images of Bulma, Bra, Gohan, Goku and his lookalike, and... and.. Vegeta? Who was this young man, and why does he know Bulma, Goku and Vegeta?   
  
Trunks, for his part, didn't appreciate people reading his mind without his permission. "Hey!" he exclaimed, and Piccolo's concentration was broken. Perhaps it was the image of Vegeta which he saw in Trunks' mind, but Piccolo suddenly felt very afraid, a fear he hasn't felt since the battle on old Namek. Almost without thinking, he threw a very powerful Masenkoseppou at Trunks, and at such a short distance it was a shockingly powerful blast.But the greater shock was that when the smoke from the blast cleared, the purple-haired young man wasn't there anymore. Instead, a young man with spiky, golden hair and an awesome golden glow surrounding his body was in his place. A Super Saiyajin. Piccolo was so shocked, he stood there frozen at the terrifying and at the same time awe-inspiring sight before him. He could feel the power radiating from the figure, who broke his almost holy imagery by breaking into a huge naughty grin at the sight of Piccolo's face.   
  
"What's going on up there?" a voice suddenly interrupted. Trunks looked down and powered down immediately as Goten finished zipping up his pants and put a hand over his forehead as he looked up at the sky. "Ahh.. that was a relief," he muttered to himself. "Hey Trunks!" he shouted at his best friend, "Having fun all by yourself, are you?! How dare you leave me out of a fight?"   
  
Piccolo's mind was reeling. This insanely powerful young man had a companion who was almost as strong as himself. Why hadn't he felt it before? He cursed himself. For all his training, how could he still be careless enough to let this happen? But the greater shock was when Pan happily ran to the newcomer and tugged at his shirt, leading him directly underneath them. "Uncle Goten!" she exclaimed. "Make them stop! Trunks and that Piccolo are having all the fun and they're not letting me join in," she complained.  
  
That, coupled with the blows he received from Trunks, was just too much to take for the poor confused ex-demon king. He fell unceremoniously from the sky and landed face first on the ground.  
  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Marron had finished her research in the library. She's learnt quite a few interesting things about this world. On the way home, she passed by a shopping mall and couldn't resist going in.  
  
While Marron was browsing through the clothes department, suddenly there was a commotion outside. She ran outside to see what it was. People were running for cover as chunks of rocks fell from the shaking building. The reason for the commotion immediately became clear. It was a Red Ribbon Army cyborg, who was being beaten by the Great Saiyaman.  
  
It was clear that the cyborg was losing. Suddenly, he put his hand on his upper left chest. "I may lose, Great Saiyaman," the cyborg thundered, "but not without taking you with me!" Before the Great Saiyaman could stop him, he self-destructed, shouting "Long live the Red Ribbon Army!"   
  
It was that explosion that caused the building to shake and threaten to collapse. Chunks of rocks started to fall from the ceiling, endangering the panicked shoppers inside. The Great Saiyaman rushed over to blast the bigger chunks into harmless clouds of dust, but there were just too many of them. He cursed himself for allowing himself to be duped by the cyborg into fighting in the city, where his movements were restricted so as not to endanger the innocent humans. The cyborgs have certainly gotten cleverer these days. Suddenly he spotted a girl who was directly in the path of a falling rock. He wanted to warn her, but she was too far away from him to hear his shouts amid the panicking crowds. Marron, who was looking around still hadn't realised the rock which was falling right where she was standing.  
  
"Look out!" cried a voice behind her. Before she could react, the owner of the voice rushed at her and pushed her away seconds before the chunk of rock fell into the spot where she was previously standing. She turned to her saviour to thank him, and was face to face with a bald, noseless monk. Kuririn. Her father, or rather, the alternate version of her father.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked her. She nodded, too rattled to speak. Kuririn heaved a sigh of relief. "Listen," he said, "Can you get as far away from this building as possible? And bring the other people too. The building might collapse any second now."  
  
"Sure," Marron nodded and hurried off to guide the panicking people away from the building.  
  
Not far away, Gohan (aka Great Saiyaman) was freeing some people trapped between the fallen rocks. There were also others who were injured and panicking children crying and running all over the place. Kuririn rushed over to help him. They didn't have much time left before the building will collapse.  
  
"Where's Piccolo?" Kuririn shouted. "We really need his help right now." The ex-Demon King usually turned up to help when things got too rough with the Red Ribbon Army cyborgs. This time he wasn't there. "I don't know," Gohan answered. "But I sense he's fighting someone very powerful. He may not be able to help us now."  
  
Luckily for everybody, the Great Saiyaman and the bald monk managed to get everybody to safety before the building collapsed. By now, the police have arrived and they took charge of the situation. The Great Saiyaman disappeared. Kuririn was still there, however. Marron spotted him and went over to him. "Thank you for saving my life," she said.  
  
Kuririn smiled. "Don't mention it." He took a closer look at Marron. "You look a little shaken. Why don't I send you home?"   
  
"I... no, thank you," Marron politely declined. "That's not necessary, err... Mr...."  
  
"Just call me Kuririn," he said.   
  
"... Kuririn," Marron smiled, and introduced herself. "I'm Marron."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Marron," Kuririn returned her smile. "I live on Kame Island," he said. Marron nodded in recognition of the name. Kuririn noticed this. "You know where it is?" he asked. She nodded. "Why don't you come over if you're free?" he offered.  
  
"I'd love to," Marron replied, "but I must be getting home now. Goodbye Kuririn-san, and thanks for the invitation. I'll come and visit soon," she promised, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.   
  
Next: Findings, questions and decisions.  



	10. Chapter 18

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
chapter 18  
  
Chapter 18: Findings, questions and decisions.  
  
That night, everybody was back at the mansion, except for #17. Marron laughed till her stomach ached when Bra and Pan told her what happened earlier in the city. Later, when she's recovered, she told the others what she's discovered from her research.  
  
"Apparently, uncle #17 is a famous rock star in this world. That's why all the girls were crazy over him."  
  
"You can say that again." At that moment, #17 walked in, looking quite dishevelled. Everybody turned to look at him. "Are you all right, uncle?" Marron asked. "I never knew girls could be so vicious," #17 said, slumping down on the sofa. He wasn't wearing the same clothes he wore this morning, though none of the others noticed this. (How this happened is left to the reader's imagination ^_~) "So, what else have you found out?" he asked, changing the topic.  
  
"Well," Marron continued her report, "My mother in this world is an award-winning actress. What we saw on TV last night was her acting in a movie."  
  
"Wow, she sure was convincing. I'd never have thought #17 and #18 could become pop stars," Goten remarked.   
  
"Well, this might explain how," Marron said, holding a page taken from an entertainment magazine. "According to the story here, #17 and #18 were saved from the Red Ribbon Army when they were little by a mysterious 'handsome' man and a girl named Marron, and some other people they couldn't remember and were handed over to a couple of artistes who were staying nearby. They raised the twins to become artistes like themselves, and they decided to keep the only names they remember: #17 and #18. They've searched for their saviours all these years, but have never found them and to this day they're still searching."   
  
Everyone was quiet, as the meaning of the story sinked in. #17 and #18 may well find their saviours now: it was them! "What have we done...?" Trunks asked. "What have I turned MYSELF into?!" #17 asked, aghast, as he recalled some shows he's seen about the kind of lifestyle artistes lived, and how the girls treated him this morning.  
  
Marron cleared her throat. "Anyway, the Great Saiyaman is a regular super hero here. He always battles the Red Ribbon cyborgs, but so far he's always won. They're no match for him."  
  
"The Red Ribbon Army is still around?" #17 instantly turned serious.  
  
"But they're not a big threat," Marron said, to calm him. "In fact, just today I saw the Great Saiyaman defeat a Red Ribbon cyborg in the city." She didn't mention her encounter with the alternate timeline version of her father.  
  
"What about our families?" Goten asked. "I found this obituary in the paper archive," Marron replied. "It says Son Goku died 20 years ago leaving a wife, ChiChi, and a son, Son Gohan. So you don't exist in this world, Goten," she said. "Like me."  
  
"What about us?" Trunks asked. "I can't seem to find any news on Vegeta," Marron said, "but your mother married Yamucha, so you two don't exist here, either," she handed him a copy of a wedding announcement.   
  
"About the dragonballs--"  
  
"They're here," Trunks said. "How do you know?" Marron asked.  
  
"We met Piccolo today," Trunks said. "He knows about us now," he continued. "I told him." "Why'd you do that?" Marron demanded. "I suppose he had a right to know, after the beating I gave him," Trunks explained. "He wasn't fused with Kami-sama, so he wasn't as strong as he was in our world. I didn't know at first, or else I would've held back."  
  
Elsewhere, Piccolo was nursing his wounds. He had to think. Two Super Saiyajins from another timeline are here. Was this the bad premonition he had been getting this past year? But they didn't seem to be bad people. Piccolo grunted in pain as he tried to get up. "Damn." He had forgotten how powerful a Super Saiyajin was. But he had a feeling the worse was yet to come. Earth could be in danger, but from what he didn't know yet. He must train harder to prepare himself for whatever it was to come.  
  
Back at the #17 mansion, everybody got ready for bed. It was agreed that tomorrow Trunks will go and borrow the Dragon Radar from Bulma. They'll start searching then.   
  
Next: Getting the Dragon Radar  
  
p/s - as always, please feedback! I need to know where to improve and what you like about my fics. 


	11. Chapter 19

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17   
chapter 19   
  
Chapter 19: Getting the Dragon Radar   
  
The next day, Trunks went to Capsule Corporation, as agreed. Upon arriving, a robot took him to Bulma's office. There were a few other people outside waiting to see her. Trunks took a seat and waited for his turn. Beside him was an old man. Unlike the other people in the room who were smartly dressed, he was almost dressed only in his underwear. He wore an old worn-out white undershirt, cotton striped shorts and rubber slippers. The old man turned to look at the newcomer beside him.   
  
"Are you here for the job interview too?" he asked Trunks. "No." Trunks shook his head. The old man sighed. "I need to have my car repaired. But these fools here all don't want to help. They just want to see Bulma Briefs and get a job at Capsule Corporation," he muttered to himself while taking out a capsule from his pocket and holding it in Trunks' view.   
  
"Maybe I can help," Trunks said. The old man looked at him; slightly surprised at the offer, and a little reluctant. "Are you sure?" he asked. "It's custom made by Bulma Briefs herself, you know."   
  
Trunks shrugged. "Why don't I take a look at it first?" he asked. Now it was the old man who shrugged, and handed him the capsule. Trunks decapsulated it, and a car popped into the spacious room. He opened the hood and examined the engine inside. This car was unique, custom made by Bulma Briefs, as the old man claimed. However, Trunks had driven a similar model in his own timeline so he was familiar with the engine. After pinpointing the fault, he did some fiddling, then closed the hood.   
  
"There. Good as new," he said, turning to the old man. "Really?" The old man opened the front door and went in. After starting the engine, he pushed a few buttons. The car floated, then the roof disappeared, turning it into a convertible air-car. He stepped on the accelerator, and the car ran smoothly as he test drove it round and round the airspace of the spacious room. The old man beamed, obviously happy with the job.   
  
"Thank you so much, young man!" he waved to Trunks before speeding off outside through the wide doorways. In a blink he was gone, leaving only dustclouds in his wake.   
  
While Trunks and the other people watched the dustclouds left by the speeding car, a woman's voice from behind them spoke. "You there, the one who repaired the car. You're hired!"   
  
"Me?" Trunks turned to face the owner of the voice who was none other than Bulma Briefs herself. "I didn't come here for the job actually. I need to borrow something from you."   
  
"Oh?" Bulma raised an eye-brow. "Too bad. But why don't you come inside my office and I'll see what I can do for you." She turned to the other people still in the waiting room. "Well? What are you all still doing here? Don't you have other jobs to apply for somewhere else?" So they left, disappointed at losing the opportunity of getting their dream job at the prestigious Capsule Corp.   
  
Inside Bulma's office, Bulma and Trunks talked. "Mr.Apek is one of our best customers," she said, referring to the old man whose car Trunks had just repaired. He may not look like it, but he is one of the richest man on the planet. One of the traits I like our employees to have is to not judge the book by its cover. Too bad you're not here for the job." Trunks smiled. He had been brought up with the Briefs family tradition: to help anybody who had any problems with Capsule Corp. products in any way they can, that was why he offered to repair the old man's car. Bulma turned the conversation to the young man before her.   
  
"So, what can I do for you, Mr...?"   
  
"My name is Trunks," Trunks introduced himself.   
  
"Oh, what a coincidence," Bulma said. "I have a son named Trunks too."   
  
"Oh..." Trunks didn't have much to say about the (non)-coincidence.   
  
"You said you wanted to borrow something. What is it?"   
  
"I need to borrow the Dragon Radar," Trunks said.   
  
"The Dragon Radar?" Bulma turned to him sharply. "How do you know about the Dragon Radar?"   
  
"I... Piccolo told me--"   
  
"You know Piccolo?"   
  
"Yes." Trunks nodded.   
  
"Strange that Piccolo would be friends with anybody else other than Gohan," Bulma murmured to herself. She took another, careful look at Trunks. He smiled the sincerest smile he could. Then she noticed the Capsule Corp. logo on the jacket he wore. "Why do you have our logo on your jacket? Are you one of our employees?"   
  
"No." Trunks replied. "This jacket is a present from somebody I know."   
  
Bulma took a step back and squinted at Trunks. "You're not one of Pilaf's men, are you?"   
  
Trunks looked at her blankly. "Who's Pilaf?" The name sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite recall where he heard it before. It was probably from his mother's stories of her early adventures with the Dragon Balls, but Trunks wasn't very sure.   
  
"Hmmm..." Bulma didn't know why, but she liked the boy, and trusted him. "Ok then. Wait here. I'll get it for you."   
  
Trunks smiled in relief. "Thanks, mo--, I mean Bulma-san."   
  
"Hm? You're welcome, Trunks-san." Bulma smiled and left the room.   
  
While Trunks was waiting, the door suddenly opened from the outside. A little girl with lavender hair and blue eyes entered. "Mom? My doll's broken. Can you fix it for me--" She stopped when she saw Trunks. "Oh, sorry," she said to him. "I thought my mom was in."   
  
"Bra?" Trunks asked. "What are you doing here?"   
  
At that moment Bulma walked in with the Dragon Radar. "Oh, hello Bra," she greeted her daughter. Turning to Trunks, she introduced the little girl. "Trunks, this is my daughter Bra. Bra, this is Trunks. He's here on business. He's got the same name as your brother. Isn't that a coincidence?"   
  
Trunks stared at the little girl. She looked exactly like his sister! Bra was looking at Trunks strangely too. "How do you know my name before my mom told you?"   
  
"I..."   
  
"Oh, you silly girl," Bulma said. "You have your name printed right there on your shirt."   
  
Bra looked down. "Oh."   
  
"Anyway," Bulma handed the radar to Trunks. "Here's the radar. Do you know how to use it?"   
  
Trunks nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Bulma-san."   
  
Bulma nodded, and looked at her watch. "It's nearly lunchtime. Why don't you join us for lunch, Trunks?"   
  
"Thank you, I'd love to," he accepted the invitation, not wanting to seem rude.   
  
As the three of them left for the cafeteria, none of them noticed another pair of blue eyes watching them carefully.   
  
Next: Marron visits Kuririn 


	12. Chapter 20

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Chapter 20: Marron visits Kuririn   
  
Elsewhere.  
  
"I'm really sorry for the mess," Kurririn apologised, kicking away the porno magazines lying about. He caught sight of the slight smile on his visitor's face. "They're not mine," he said hastily, embarrassed.  
  
"That's all right. I don't mind," Marron said.  
  
Kuririn picked up the rest of the magazines and shoved them into a corner. "Have a seat, Marron," he said. "Make yourself at home." He brought her some cold drinks from the fridge and some snacks.  
  
"It's really nice to have you coming for a visit," he said. "It can get a little too quiet here sometimes."  
  
"It's a peaceful place to stay," Marron said.  
  
"I live here with my teacher Mutenroshi, also known as Kamesennin," said Kuririn. "He's really old, quite past his prime as the best martial artist on Earth, but he's taught us a lot--"  
  
At that moment, an old man entered the house. He was bald, with a long white beard and wore sunglasses. "Kuririn.. ah, who's this?" his eyes roved behind the dark glasses over the female figure seated in the house.  
  
"This is Marron," Kuririn introduced their guest. "Marron, this is my teacher Mutenroshi."  
  
"Nice to meet you." Mutenroshi walked over to Marron who was still sitting and attempted to look down her blouse.  
  
Kuririn pulled him back. "Mutenroshi, please be respectful to our guest," he said, veins popping up on his bald head. He turned to Marron apopogetically. "He's a bit of a pervert, I'm afraid, but he's a good person, really."  
  
Marron smiled. "I believe you," she said. "And I'm quite used to dealing with these type of people." She eyed Mutenroshi warningly.  
  
Having decided that there was little chance of peeking at Marron, who was decently dressed in a respectful blouse and jeans, Kamesennin turned his attention elsewhere. "I want to take a rest," he announced. "Where are my magazines?" He looked around.  
  
"There." Kuririn pointed to a pile of magazines shoved into a corner.  
  
Kamesennin went over to the pile, picked up a few magazines and walked over to his favourite chair. He started reading, ignoring his guest and student, and occasionally made some weird noises.  
  
Kuririn again looked embarassed, while Marron tried to stifle her giggles. "Um... maybe we should talk in my room," Kuririn said. "I mean, if you don't mind, just to talk..."  
  
"I'd love to," Marron said.  
  
They disappeared into Kuririn's room.  
  
Mutenroshi looked up from his magazine over at them. "It's good to see Kuririn start to mix around with girls again, although she looks young enough to be his daughter." He shrugged. "Maybe she'll get him off his unhealthy obsession."  
  
He returned to his magazine, one hand turning the page and the other doing some naughty stuff with himself. "Ahh..."   
  
###############################################################################################  
  
We've seen glimpses of this timeline, now allow me to introduce you to the versions of the DB regulars in this timeline. So for the next update, I present:  
  
Next: Introduction to the DB characters in the new timeline 


	13. Introduction to the DB characters in the...

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Introduction to the DB characters in the new timeline...  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Goku:  
Dead.  
  
Vegeta:  
Dead.  
  
Bulma:  
President of Capsule Corp. Married (not very happily, it seems) to Yamucha. Has 2 children: Trunks and Bra.  
  
Yamucha:  
Became a professional baseball player. Now a coach to one of the most successful teams in the world. Married (not very happily, it seems) to Bulma. Has 2 children: Trunks and Bra.  
  
Gohan:  
Became a scholar, and also the crime-fighting Great Saiyaman. Married to Videl and has a daughter, Pan.  
  
Pan:  
7 years old, first year in primary school. Not so much of a tomboy as Pan from the regular universe.  
  
Bra:  
Same age as Pan, and in the same school and class. She and Pan are best friends.  
  
Trunks:  
Bulma and Yamucha's eldest child. 17 years old. Brooding, angsty teenager. Because of this, he doesn't have many friends. However, he's very handsome, even better looking the Trunks from the regular universe.  
  
Piccolo:  
Not much different from the Piccolo in the regular universe, but he's not fused with Kami-sama.  
  
#17:  
Not a world-destroying android, and not a poor hunter/woodcutter.   
  
#18:  
Not a world-destroying android, and she's not poor either! By now, you should already know what they both do for a living ^_^  
  
Kuririn:  
Still a bachelor, and still lives with Kamesennin on Kame Island. He has a secret love... Read the next chapter to find out who!  
  
Other characters:  
Tenshinhan will appear sometime later in the series. He's married to Lunch and they have a big happy family. And as a bonus to A Mirai's Tale readers, we just might meet this timeline's version of Tea and Supper too ^_^  
  
Villains:  
Pilaf, Gero and the big (as yet undefined) villain the Z warriors will have to beat in a climactic (if I actually succeed in writing such a scene) fight at the end of the fic *_*  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Next: Marron's Plan  
  
Announcement: Fan art wanted!   
If you like to draw fan art and could draw the above characters, especially the handsome Trunks ^_~ I would be very happy indeed if you would email me your drawings and I will put it up on my website, where all my fics are also available. Proper acknowledgments will be given, of course, and if you need more clarification on the characters or some other stuff, just email me at shard00@yahoo.com 


	14. Chapter 21

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Chapter 21: Marron's Plan  
  
Marron was thoughtful on her way back, thinking of her visit to Kame Island. Kuririn was in love with #18. His room was full of pictures and news clippings of the beautiful film star and he knew every single fact about her. To anyone else, Kuririn would seem like an obsessed fan, a psycho. But Marron knew better. Kuririn and #18 were meant to be. The only problem was #18 didn't know it yet. Well, that's a problem she will soon rectify, Marron decided. She was determined to do them this one favour before she left. But how? She mustn't let them know of her identity. Mirai Bulma's words rang in her mind. You change other timelines in unpredictable ways just by being there. The more you interact with the timeline, the more it changes, and the more alternate timelines there will be. Not only will that make their journey back to their own timeline more difficult and dangerous (but that wouldn't matter since they're going to wish themselves back), it might cause instabilites in the space-time continuum. But nobody knew enough about it to know what exactly the dangers are.  
  
Marron decided to stop to refill the car (Trunks' car, which she borrowed after he left for Capsule Corp. this morning) with gas. While the car was being filled, she bought a newspaper from the newsstand. An ad caught her attention. It was a contest to promote #18's next movie. The winner will be given free tickets to the movie preview, and more importantly, to meet #18 face to face. That's it! Marron thought. She could help Kuririn win this competition and set him and #18 on a date. But then again, he's probably already sent hundreds of entries. Still, he might not necessarily win, ...unless there was some inside help.   
  
And then the next ad caught her eye. It was by the same agency which was promoting #18's movie. 'Career opportunities in advertising', it read. 'Special apprenticeship programme for high school students to experience the exciting world of media advertising.' This was her chance. If she got the job, she could do something to increase Kuririn's chances of winning. It might not be legal, but her intent was pure and honorable, Marron thought. She just wanted to match-make the two soulmates so they could get married and live happily ever after and have their own little Marron... She trembled with excitement at the thought. But she was nervous at the same time. What if she got caught? Never in her 17 years of life had she ever considered doing anything against the law. But then again, she should be long gone and never to return by the time any discrepancies were found out. Marron shook her fist in determination. She must do this, she decided. A little bending of the law wouldn't do any harm, she tried to convince herself.   
  
She read on. Must have certified letter from school, credit in commerce, media studies etc... Marron read through the list of qualifications. She easily passed all the of them, except for the first one. She's not from this world; she didn't have any letter of certification. She could forge one, but that was too risky. The only way was to register as a student in one of the schools here, get the letter, apply for the job, and execute her plan. She took another look at the contest ad. The closing date will be in a three day's time, and the results will be announced in a week.* She wouldn't have enough time to see this through. Trunks had already gone to get the Dragon Radar, and they could easily collect all seven Dragon balls in just a day. If she's going to do this, she'll need more time. Maybe she could persuade Trunks to stay for just a while longer before wishing themselves home. It did occur to Marron that she was going against Mirai Bulma's warnings by her actions, but it was already too late, she thought stubbornly. They were now in a timeline which was a direct result of their interference with an event in its past, and besides even Trunks had interacted with someone from this timeline. He's already told this timeline's Piccolo about them, for Kami's sake! Furthermore, Marron rationalised, they were going back by magic, which should guarantee their safe journey home. She's got nothing to worry about.  
  
The car was now filled up, and Marron returned to the #17 mansion with a new determination.  
  
Next: The Dragon Radar is broken!  
  
* Previously, the closing date was in a week and the results announced in a month, but I think this will our heroes too long in this timeline, so I shortened the timeframe. 


	15. Chapter 22

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Chapter 22: The Dragon Radar is broken!  
  
Trunks returned to the #17 mansion with the Dragon Radar. Everybody was there except for Marron. This Trunks noticed. "Where's Marron?" he asked.  
  
"Went out for a walk in the city or somewhere," Goten answered, between scoops of ice-cream. Pan and Bra were covered with ice-cream smudges too, while #17 was engrossed in the other #17's magazine collection. Evidently, he had found a side of himself he never thought he had before, and his android eyes glinted in pleasure at the thought of what he'd do with the collection belonging to the other version of himself, while he was here. The demi and quarter Saiyajins were engrossed in their own pleasures too, namely food, and didn't notice this.  
  
"Oh," Trunks shrugged. "Well, I got the radar." He showed them the radar in his hand. "We can start searching anytime you guys are ready."  
  
He went over to the dinner table while Goten and the girls finished up. Trunks pulled out a chair and sat down. Hmm... The french fries and ice-cream looked good. He had refrained from eating too much at Bulma's place just now in order not to arouse suspicion to his real identity. So now he he freely joined in the feast.   
  
"You know," he said, dipping a french fry into the ice-cream tub, "Apparently, this timeline's version of my mother has a daughter called Bra. And she looks just like you," he pointed his ice cream-dipped french fry at his sister.  
  
"Really?" Bra asked. "Yeah. I thought it was you at first," Trunks said.  
  
"Well, Bra-chan and me are a lot alike, aren't we Bra-chan?" Goten patted Bra's head affectionately. "I look exactly like my father when I was small too."  
  
"She's got a son too," Trunks continued. "And guess what his name is."  
  
"Trunks?" Pan guessed.  
  
"Yeah," Trunks nodded, grinning. "I didn't get to meet him though. I'd love to see what he's like."  
  
"Probably just like Yamucha with purple hair," Goten speculated.  
  
"You're probably right," Trunks said. He looked at the empty ice-cream tubs and french fries and pizza wrappings on the table. "OK. You guys go get cleaned up. #17, get ready. We'll start searching for the Dragon Balls in 10 minutes. Robot, clean up this table." He gave orders.  
  
While the others got themselves ready, Trunks examined the radar. He pushed the button. Nothing showed on the screen. He frowned. He tried again, and a third time, but still, nothing happened. He took out a screwdriver and opened the radar, careful not to touch any of the components inside. He looked through the complex circuitry looking for obvious faults like a loose wire or faulty components. But there wasn't any, as far as he could see. Trunks was good in electronics, having spent all his life surrounded by Capsule Corporation's technology, but he wasn't (yet) a genius like his mother. And the Dragon Radar was certainly one of Bulma's most ingenious creations.   
  
Trunks sat there thinking, tapping the screwdriver on the table absently. Presently, Goten and the others came. Goten noticed the look on his best friend's face. "What's wrong, Trunks?" he asked.  
  
Trunks looked up. "The radar's not picking up any signal. It must be broken." They all looked at him.  
  
"What are you going to do now?" #17 asked.  
  
"Take it back to Bulma and ask her to repair it. Damn, I should've checked it before I left," Trunks said. He looked at his watch. It was still early in the afternoon. "I better go now. I might still be able to catch her before she closes her office."  
  
He got up. Taking the radar with him, he walked to the nearest window. "See you later guys. Hopefully this won't take too long." He waved as he flew out.  
  
Next: What's wrong with the Dragon Radar? 


	16. Chapter 23

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Chapter 23: What's wrong with the Dragon Radar?   
  
Marron arrived at the #17 mansion to find everybody still sitting around. "I'm home," she announced. Noticing that Trunks wasn't around, she asked, "Isn't Trunks back yet?"  
  
"He's gone back to Capsule Corp.," Goten answered. "There was something wrong with the Dragon Radar."  
  
"Oh?" Marron's eyebrow lifted.  
  
"It didn't pick up any signal," Goten elaborated. "So Trunks went back to Capsule Corp. to see if Bulma can fix it."  
  
"I hope it's not anything serious," Marron said rather untruthfully. Inwardly, she cheers. Kami up there must have approved of her plan. This will give her the time she needs to execute her plan. Just a few days, that's all she needs. Now, she needs to think, to formulate a plan to ensure that Kuririn gets to see #18. "I'll be in my room if anybody needs me," she said.  
  
Meanwhile, in Capsule Corp., Bulma was examining the Dragon Radar. She frowned. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. "I don't know why it isn't picking up any signal," she said. "I've checked everything and nothing seems to be faulty." She looked up at Trunks who was sitting at the other side of he table, still thinking.  
  
"The only reason why the radar wouldn't pick up any signal would be if the dragonballs are inside a living being or something that simulates the internal environment of a living being. Maybe they've been swallowed by an animal," she speculated.  
  
"But they couldn't all be swallowed, " Trunks said. "The dragonballs scatter all over the planet after being used--" At this, Bulma's head snapped to attention. "Of course!" she exclaimed, checking her calendar. "It hasn't been a full year yet since they were last used."  
  
"Somebody's used the Dragon Radar?" Trunks asked.  
  
Bulma nodded. "Do you remember when the whole planet suddenly darkened sometime last year, Trunks?" she asked him. "Err... I can't quite recall," he replied. He wasn't in this timeline last year, so of course he wouldn't know. "That was the dragonballs being used to make a wish," Bulma explained. "We never did find out who it was," she continued.  
  
"Why didn't you investigate?" Trunks asked.  
  
"The dragonballs aren't anybody's property, even though the Dragon Radar is mine," Bulma said. "Whoever gathered the dragonballs did it without using my radar and had as much right to make a wish as any of us." Actually, Bulma had concerns about the dragonballs being abused, and she had a suspect. But the fact of the matter was, there wasn't any evidence for her to start pointing accusing fingers at Gero. Dr.Gero was a brilliant but mad scientist. He had gotten himself mixed up with the Red Ribbon Army, then succumbed to madness after a mysterious incident at the Red Ribbon Army base which left his face badly disfigured, and his mind worse still. He was institutionalised; then, a day after he reportedly escaped from the mental institution where he underwent treatment for the past 20 years, the dragonballs were used. Soon after that the cyborgs started to appear. Bulma put two and two together, but she still didn't know what Gero's real motives were, and where all this will lead to. After all, she can't tell the future.   
  
"Just like you, Trunks," she said, looking at him. "You never did tell me what you wanted to wish for." Inwardly, Trunks squirmed. "I'm sorry, Bulma-san. I can't tell you."   
  
Bulma looked at him in the eyes. The young man didn't want to have to keep a secret from her, but for some reason, he must. And even though he was acting suspicious, Bulma found that she still trusted him, for some strange reason. Seeing him uncomfortable, she decided not to ask him further. "I understand. I won't ask again." She handed him the Dragon Radar. "It'll be another month until the dragonballs will be regenerated. Can you wait?"  
  
Trunks nodded. "I'd rather use it as soon as possible, but there's nothing we can do about it. I'll wait." He got up to leave and held out his hand. "Thank you so much, Bulma-san. I really appreciate all your help."  
  
Bulma smiled. "Thank me after you return the radar, Trunks-kun," she said, shaking his hand. Trunks looked at her solemnly. "I won't be able to see you again after I make the wish, Bulma-san," he told her.  
  
"Oh?" Bulma sounded disappointed. "In that case, you're welcome to come here anytime in this one month," she offered. Trunks smiled, but didn't say anything. It would be wiser not to get too involved with this world, as it would cause even more changes from his own timeline. He turned to leave. "Goodbye, Bulma-san," he bade her.  
  
Bulma walked him to the door. "Goodbye, Trunks-kun. Oh," she said, remembering something. "Hm?" Trunks turned to her. "Incidentally, the vacancy is still open, although it's just a post for a junior technician. We could use someone like you, even if it's only for a month."  
  
"Thanks for the offer, Bulma-san," he said. "But I don't think I should take it." Bulma shrugged. "Call me if you change your mind."  
  
She saw Trunks off at the Capsule Corp. front gate and only went back in after Trunks left in a taxi he hailed.  
  
Next: Mirai Bulma's New Assistant 


	17. Chapter 24

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Chapter 24: Mirai Bulma's New Assistant  
  
"Bulma, you need a rest," ChiChi walked over to Bulma, holding a cup of coffee. Bulma had been sitting in front of her computer for how long, ChiChi didn't know. Her lab was still a mess as she had only repaired the essential machineries involved in building the time machine. She didn't look up from her calculations. "I'm OK. Now stop bothering me!" she snapped.  
  
"Bulma.." ChiChi was about to snap back, but stopped herself. She understood Bulma's feelings. She herself had been in a similar, "No,worse," ChiChi corrected herself, condition after Gohan died. Bulma and Trunks had taken care of her as best as they could, until one day she snapped out of it and finally accepted the fact of Gohan's death. Now Trunks was missing and Bulma was trying to get him back. ChiChi didn't understand Bulma's work, she only understood enough to know that they still had no clear idea what had happened, and without that information it would be near impossible to find him and bring him back. They didn't even know whether he was still alive...  
  
ChiChi decided to leave Bulma alone. She left the cup of coffee at her desk and walked toward the window. She looked out. It was still early in the morning, and it was raining hard. It must be really cold outside. Suddenly, one of Bulma's domestic robots entered the room. "Visitor for Ms. Bulma," the robot announced. ChiChi turned to Bulma, who seemed oblivious to everything but the figures on the screen of her computer. "Never mind, I'll get it myself," ChiChi sighed and followed the robot to the front door.  
  
A figure covered in a dark-coloured raincoat stood at the door. ChiChi welcomed the visitor in. "Good morning. My name is Maki," their visitor introduced herself. "I have an appointment with Ms. Bulma today." She took off her wet raincoat and bowed politely to ChiChi.  
  
"Ah.. Good morning," ChiChi returned the greeting. "Bulma is busy right now, but I'll take you to her lab." She motioned to the young woman to follow her.  
  
"Thank you," Maki ran her hand through her green hair, which was a bit wet at the edges from the heavy rain. She took off her glasses, wiped them with a hanky and put them on again.  
  
They reached Bulma's lab. "Bulma," ChiChi called out. "There's a young lady here to see you."  
  
Bulma still didn't look up. "Who is it?"  
  
Maki was startled by Bulma's snappish tone. "Ah.. My name is Maki. I came for the job interview for the post of assistant scientist." She introduced herself, then explained further. "You scheduled an appointment for last week, but you postponed it to today."  
  
Bulma made no reply. Maki turned to ChiChi. "Please don't be offended, Maki-san. She's having a rough time right now. She's just lost her son, you see," ChiChi explained.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe I should come back another time?" Maki glanced at Bulma sympathetically.  
  
"Well, have a rest first," ChiChi said. "You must be cold. Why don't you have a seat and I'll make you a hot drink. You can leave when the weather gets better."  
  
Maki started to thank ChiChi, but was cut short by Bulma's voice. "You're hired! Your first task is to help me find Trunks!"  
  
**OMAKE**  
  
Introducing Maki, a character created by me for this fanfic. Here's a little description of her:  
  
Age: 20  
Hair: Green (because I like green-haired female characters ^_-)  
Eyes: Usually closed, or covered by her glasses  
Occupation: Scientist  
Area of research: How to make humans strong enough to defeat the cyborgs, although now she'll have to study time travel if she wants to work at Capsule Corp.   
Family: None. She's orphaned by the cyborgs when still very young.  
Bad habit: Thinking aloud/talking to herself, dangerous experiments (but since she won't appear very often in this story, any evidence of this won't likely be shown here).  
  
A picture I drew of her is available at my website: http://www.geocities.com/shard00/fanart.html  
  
I'll probably write more about her after this fic ends, to explore her childhood, and what happens to her after this. For now, this is enough, I think. Now back to the story.  
  
22:09 13/11/02 - Another side note. I've recently started watching the anime Argento Soma, and thought of the similarities between the character Maki in that series and my own fan-created character. Both were bespectacled young female assistant scientists, but mine is green-haired instead of having sandy-coloured hair, and she is also not as reticent as the AS character. I would like my character to be more cheerful. And she won't die in the first episode, as did the AS character. If you like Neon Genesis Evangelion, I would recommend Argento Soma - it's not nearly as incomprehensible (so far, at least - I have only watched until Episode 18) and the characters are more likeable (that too, is just my opinion. Others may not agree).  
  
**END OMAKE**  
  
Maki opened her mouth to thank Bulma, but the genius scientist was back to her computer again. Bulma's newly hired assistant turned to ChiChi questioningly. "Trunks is her son," ChiChi explained.  
  
"Oh..." Maki looked over at Bulma with even more sympathy. Obviously, Bulma was too overcome by her grief to act rationally. She was well known as a genius scientist and inventor, and Maki considered it an honour to have the opportunity to work with her. But she was starting to have doubts now. "Should I accept?" she thought. "This is the only place where I can fully utilise my talents and skills." Capsule Corporation's technology is unsurpassed on this planet, and to this young scientist, the thought of all the technology waiting for her to test her theories and ideas was something to be drooled over. And anyway, she does need the income. She's just been kicked out of her room for not being able to pay the rent. On the other hand, *Bulma-is-trying-to-get-her-dead-son-back-to-life!* Scenes from Frankenstein flashed in Maki's mind, with Bulma as the mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein, herself as the faithful assistant Igor, and Trunks as their grotesque creation. "Ow!"  
  
ChiChi had hit her head with a teaspoon. "Don't speak that way of the people who saved our world from the cyborgs!"  
  
Maki rubbed her head. "How did you-- Oh. I must've been talking to myself again. Wait, did you say saved us from the cyborgs? What's Mr.Satan got to do with this?"  
  
ChiChi sighed. "I'm not talking about that fool." She motioned for Maki to sit down and handed her another cup of hot tea. "I have a long story to tell you. You can make up your mind whether you want to work here after I'm finished."  
  
Next: A Day in the Life of an Actress  
  
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omake - extra, bonus, premium 


	18. Chapter 25

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Chapter 23: A Day in the life of an actress  
  
"Cut!"  
  
#18 relaxed as the director gave a thumbs-up sign. "Good work, #18!" he said, smiling. Her co-worker, Jewel, heaved a sigh of relief. The scene was particularly difficult to act, and they had to redo it twenty times before the director was satisfied.  
  
"That's it for today," the director said, and got up from his shaded chair. An assistant handed him a bottle of mineral water and a towel. They were doing the shot in a hot desert, and everybody was feeling the heat. #18 picked up her towel and wiped the sweat from her face. She then proceeded to powder her nose. She ran her hand through her golden hair, making it fly gracefully. The act never failed to attract the attention of men, for #18 was exceptionally beautiful. It was a pity she had to cut her beautiful mane, but it was necessary for the part. Nevertheless, heads still turned whenever she entered a room.  
  
"How about it, #18?" #18 looked up to see Jewel looking at her seductively. "Wanna go out with me tonight? I know a great club in town," Jewel said. "Sorry, I'm not interested," #18 replied nonchalantly, and resumed powdering her face.  
  
"Aww, c'mon #18," Jewel tried to persuade her. "It'll be fun, besides, what else are you going to do in this godforsaken desert? Hey, this is Jewel asking you out here, you're not just going to say 'not interested', are you?"  
  
"Which part of 'not interested' did you not understand?" #18 stared at him coldly. Jewel was taken aback for a while, then put up his hands in exasperation. "Fine! Don't regret your decision later!" He left in a huff, murmuring to himself that the tabloids were indeed right about #18; she's beautiful but cold and rude.  
  
"As if I would," #18 snorted after Jewel had left with three minor actresses hanging on to his arms. Jewel was one of those actors who went from fighting to acting. He had achieved good results at the Tenkaichi Boudukai and attracted the attention of a talent seeker. His first movie was a hit, and from there he starred in a few more movies (always playing a handsome hero who has a lot of fighting scenes and little dialogue) and now he had managed to star alongside her in her latest movie. No real acting talent, #18 thought disdainfully. Just depending on his good looks and martial arts skills (which #18 personally thought, wasn't that good).  
  
She sighed. She was beginning to tire of this life. Being hounded by the press wherever she went and having no privacy whatsoever. And the horrible gossip columns in the entertaiment magazines. Yes, she's had a string of relationships; it had seemed an inevitable part of her career, but none of it ever lasted. And the press only made things worse by their crazy speculations and pictures of her taken without her having the slightest idea how. It was the price of fame; she had gone into acting because her adopted parents were actors and singers, and it was just natural to follow in their footsteps. It had been fun, but maybe it's time to quit. It would be nice to exit this world of glamour and settle down quietly somewhere. An island, maybe. In the tropics, with the sunshine, blue sea and coconut palms; the whole package. #18 smiled wistfully. It sounded like an ideal life, only you'd want someone to share all that with.   
  
For her part, #18 defended herself by saying she had yet to find anybody who understood her. Aside from her twin brother, nobody really knew her. #18 shook her head. She had been looking for the perfect man, her knight in shining armour, but perhaps she'll never find him. In her mind, she could picture him clearly. He had shining black shoulder-length hair, a dashing but sometimes cold face and a bandana around his neck. It was the image of their saviour from long ago. They never saw him again, despite their best efforts to find him. And they probably will never will.  
  
"The car is ready, Miss #18."  
  
#18 looked up and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Ten," she said as she put on her sunglasses and adjusted her hat. Her bodyguard escorted her as they made their way out from the studio to the car through the backdoor. He opened the door for her and made sure she was comfortable and safe before taking his seat beside her in the backseat as the driver drove off. From her dark shades, #18 studied him. Tenshinhan, or Ten, as #19 called him, was a huge muscular man. He was strong too, and a way better fighter then Jewel could ever be. #18 could see that from the way he fended off fans and reporters who were too rough. He was always in control of his skills; using just enough force to keep them at bay, but he wasn't afraid to use them on anybody who endangered her. A distinguishing physical feature of Tenshinhan, aside from his build and bald head was his third eye, which was in the middle of his forehead. He once had a shady past, but then repented and became a monk. But later he got married and had to work to support his family, and found a job as her bodyguard. He has stayed at the job since then.  
  
#18 was glad she had him. She felt safe around him. Once he saved her from an obsessed fan. The little runt had consistently called her and told her he loved her. One day, he broke into her home. How he managed to break the security system, #18 didn't know. It was Tenshinhan who fought off against him. Finally the weirdo agreed to leave her alone after a long battle. #18 had only managed to catch a few glimpses of the man as he fought with Tenshinhan. It was a spectacular battle; she's never seen anything like it. But the intruder's features were equally striking. He was short, bald and had no nose. In short, he was ugly. Later she found out that the short man was an acquantaince of Tenshinhan's, and with Ten's assurance that he will never harass her again, she decided not to press charges.  
  
They arrived at her home. Tenshinhan escorted her to the front door and made sure she was safely in before leaving. Tomorrow was a festival day, and Ten had the day off to spend with his family.  
  
"If you're free tomorrow evening, you're welcome to come over to my house for dinner," he invited her. "Thanks, Ten," #18 smiled warmly. "Maybe I will," she said.  
  
Tenshinhan nodded and left. And #18 was left again to spend the night alone.  
  
Next: The Bodyguard (Tenshinhan's Story)  
  
p/s The next chapter isn't finalised yet. I may put up another chapter instead of this, so for the Tenshinhan fans out there, don't get your hopes too high! 


	19. Omake 2

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Why does Majin Buu not appear in this universe? Our heroes have changed events in the past so that things on Earth was not at all like their own world. We don't know how it affects the coming of Majin Buu, but here's probably why he hasn't come to this world yet...  
  
Omake 2 - Where is Majin Buu?  
  
Babidi tapped his foot impatiently. "You're late again, Darbura." Darbura wiped the sweat fom his forehead. "Huh. Sorry. Trouble in hell again."  
  
Babidi snorted. "That Vegeta guy make trouble again?" Darbura sighed. "He's a real troublemaker. Today he incited another riot again. Nearly destroyed my capital, and blew up my palace. This is gonna take forever to repair." 'And if I'm not careful, he'll take over Hell one day,' Darbura thought silently to himself.  
  
"He would be very useful to us," Babidi said thoughtfully. "If he's as strong as you make him out to be, we should be able to use his energy to free Majin Buu by now."  
  
Darbura snorted. "He's useful only if you can control him, which you can't. I've never met anybody with a stronger will than him. He's thoroughly evil, no mistake about that, but you can't enter his mind unless he lets you. Don't waste your time with him."  
  
Babidi turned aroud to face him. "You're right. If the King of Hell can't control him, who can?" The old shrivelled face smiled, with an amused and cruel glint in his eyes. 'Is that fear I sense from you, Darbura?' Babidi thought. This weakling will not keep his throne for long, he could foresee that. A pity this Vegeta is so uncontrollable, or else he could have just used his power to free Majin Buu instead of doing the tedious job of going from planet to planet just to collect enough energy to free it. 'But if you can't control it, it's of no use to you,' Babidi dismissed Vegeta with this thought.  
  
"Come on. We have to find another planet for energy, or we'll never get Majin Buu freed," he said to Darbura.  
  
Darbura silently sighed in relief. 'If Vegeta's controlled by Babidi, he'll overthrow me in no time,' he thought. 'When we've resurrected Majin Buu, I'll get rid of the tiresome old demon Babidi and use Majin Buu to fight Vegeta.' For now he'll just have to bear with Babidi, but Darbura is just biding his time. Or so he thought.  
  
"Where to now?" he asked Babidi.  
  
"We're moving away from this galaxy. There's nothing of interest so far. We'll be going to a neighbouring galaxy. Let's hope we'll get something useful there." Babidi had turned away from him again. He knew what the King of Hell was thinking. So stupid of him to think he could control Majin Buu by himself. 'Well, Darbura,' he chuckled to himself, when we free Majin Buu, maybe I'll let you live - if you'll be my slave forever.'  
  
"Right." Darbura manned their spaceship and they flew away in seach of new energy, leaving Earth untouched for the time being, and Vegeta slowly taking over as ruler of Hell. And the last Prince of Saiyajins had never been happier.   
  
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Next: The Bodyguard - Tenshinhan's Story  
  
Hopefully this long-delayed chapter will be up soon ^_^;; It's getting harder to continue my fics these days, and updates come at a snail's pace even if I want them up faster. This omake wouldn't affect the flow of this fic - Babidi missed Earth, he's not likely to return there or free Majin Buu soon, if ever. As for Vegeta, he's about as happy as any Saiyajin could be; killing and conquering and controlling souls in hell, and he never knew what he missed in not being with Bulma. 


	20. Chapter 26

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Chapter 26: (The bodyguard) - Tenshinhan's Story  
  
The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach - and that doesn't apply only to Saiyajins. Lunch should know; after all that was how she got her man, long before any of them knew what a Saiyajin was.  
  
And that was why today she had all his favourite food prepared for the special occasion. She was not much of a cook, but she had her own ways of getting things done. And as her husband and children sat around the table enjoying the food and the festive atmosphere, the motherly side of her felt warm and happy. Chiaozu was here too - Tenshinhan's best friend was like a part of the family.   
  
Tenshinhan said his prayer of thanks to Kami-sama. He's come a long way from the time when all he wanted to be was a killer. Now here he was, like any ordinary man, with a steady job, a wife and kids. The kids - all six of them, turned out well, and there's another one on the way.  
  
It seemed like such a long time ago when he first met Son Goku and old Kamesennin, and when he made the decision to change his ways. From then on there was no turning back. At first it was hard to discard his loyalty to Tsuru-sennin, but he saw through the hatred and jealousy in his old teacher's heart. He left, together with Chiaozu, and then they had to battle the Demon King Piccolo with Goku and the others. They triumphed after a difficult battle, and then there was peace, before the Saiyajins came. During that time, he found himself thinking often of the blonde woman who was living with Kamesennin. She was fierce and reckless with her guns, yet there was another side to her - the shy black-haired Lunch. She was fascinating. He hadn't fully realised his own feelings when she had said she liked him, but being dead put a perspective on things. He couldn't deny anymore his attraction for her, but how was he going to tell her how he felt? And then there was the fact that he was supposed to be a monk. As it turns out, it was she who sought him out, and after a simple dinner they somehow found themselves together in bed.   
  
But things didn't always run smoothly. He was an ex-killer who had betrayed his teacher. Tsurusennin sent his other students after him. He fought and trained and hid in order to defeat them, and somehow during that time he also lost contact with Lunch.  
  
And then one day he happened to be in one of the big cities. A big-screen TV was showing a real life robbery at a local bank. He was shocked to see that the robber was none other than Lunch - a very pregnant Lunch.  
  
Tneshinhan lost no time tracking her down and finding her. She had managed somehow to evade the police, but her lover's return had caught her in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded. "You are a warrior, and always will be," she had told him. "I don't want to tie you down." And only then, while on the run from the police did he tell her he loved her and asked her to marry him. But disappointingly, she refused. She didn't want him to marry her just because she was carrying his children. "Children?" Tenshinhan remembered his reaction upon learning that Lunch was pregnant with twins. As it was, the twins turned out fine, and they were not the only ones the couple had. But before all that were to happen, Tenshinhan had to face the most difficult task he had ever faced - to convince the stubborn and willful woman that he wanted, no, needed to spend the rest of his life with her. Lunch of course, had her doubts. Tenshinhan was a man of honour, and she had been afraid that he only asked her because it was the only honourable thing to do. Besides, didnn't he want to be a monk? But Tenshinhan persisted and finally, she agreed, and they were married just a week before Lunch gave birth.  
  
Their life after that was quite difficult. They did not have a lot of money, just barely enough of Lunch's stashed loot from her robberies to support them for a while. Tenshinhan had to find a job to support his new family. He had no skills, except fighting, and killing. Since the latter was no longer an option, the only job he managed to find was as a bodyguard. He was hired by the famous and beautiful actress with a strange name, #18 and he did a good job of protecting her, even saving her life a few times. She paid him handsomely and treated him with respect, and he has stayed at the job until today. It has been more than ten years now and they are not merely employer and employee - they're friends.  
  
Tenshinhan looked up from the dinner table to see the sweet smiling face of his wife - she had black hair today. Then one of the kids deliberately sprinkled pepper before her, and she sneezed. All hell broke loose.   
  
Then amid the chaos, there was a knock on the door. Chiaozu opend the door and let their visitor in. The visitor laughed seeing the state the family was in - they were in the middle of a foodfight, even the stoic and serious Tenshinhan. He looked up at her, astonished and slightly embarrassed. "#18?" The actress nodded. "May I join in?" she asked.  
  
And so this year's festival was celebrated by the Tenshinhan family together with #18. Every one was happy, and for the moment, loneliness was banished.  
  
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Well, this is the last update for the year. With Christmas coming soon, I hope this chapter captures the spirit of the season. I didn't name the festival Tenshinhan's family and #18 were celebrating, since the only festival ever mentioned in the manga was New Year, and it wasn't that time of year in this fic. Anyway, Merry Christmas and thanks for reading. Hopefully next year I can write even better stuff ^_^   
  
Next: Emperor Pilaf's Reign of Terror. 


	21. Chapter 27

THE TIME TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF THE NEXT GEN DB GANG, AND #17  
  
Since I haven't updated this fic since forever, here's a short summary of the story so far:  
  
This story began 3 years after the end of DBZ. Son Gohan, a scholar, was working on an experimental time travel device when it accidentally transported Trunks, Goten, Marron, Pan, Bra and #17 to Mirai Trunks' world. Fortunately for them, Mirai Bulma was able to construct a similar machine to take them home, but they ended up in a different timeline instead: one where #17 and #18 were superstars, Bulma never married Vegeta, and Tenshinhan married Lunch and worked as #18's bodyguard, among other things. Back in their own timeline, their parents tried to wish them back using the Dragonballs. Unfortunately, an encounter with Pilaf prevented them from making their wish. And in Mirai Trunks' timeline, something strange happened after Trunks and co. left, which had something to do with the time portal Mirai Bulma had constructed for them. Mirai Bulma was on her own to find the solution to Trunks' disappearence, until a new assistant arrived - who was still pondering whether she should take the job. Back again to the original timeline, Pilaf's wich was granted instead, and he became the King of Earth. What will he do now?   
  
Chapter 27: Emperor Pilaf's Reign of Terror  
  
Back in the original world, life went on as usual. There was a revolution going on, but it was quiet and bloodless, and the people of Earth never even noticed. The only person to whom all this nightmare seemed very real indeed was the former King of Earth. A second before he was still the King, and Earth was peaceful and prosperous, and the next thing he knew, he wasn't the King anymore.   
  
A little blue imp had marched into the Royal Palace, accompanied by a dog-man and a black-haired woman. The blue imp who declared himself as Pilaf, the new emperor of Earth, commanded the royal palace guards to throw the old king out. And as though it was the most natural thing in the world, they snatched him away from the throne and threw him into the streets. How could they do this, the royal guards who had sworn to give their lives to protect their king? "You're not the King. Emperor Pilaf is," one of the guards said to him, and it all becomes clear. He wasn't the king. Pilaf was. But how did it happen? Wasn't he king just a minute ago? But it was true, and he knew it, could feel it in his heart. He wasn't the king anymore. Pilaf was. He was a nobody now, without a kingdom, or even a home.   
  
The early morning chill blew in his direction, bringing with it the smells of the dark streets, and he shivered. Suddenly the world felt very harsh, where previously everything was all nice and cosy. But there was nothing else for him to do except to live like all the commoners. This was his life now.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile in Capsule Corporation, Western Capitol, a certain prince was not in a very good mood. He's already blown off all the robots (including the domestic ones) and busted the gravity room, but he still didn't feel any better. Right after their encounter with Pilaf, Bulma immediately locked herself in her lab and refused to see anybody but Gohan. Vegeta understood that his wife was trying to find a way to get the children and android back, and he knew that she didn't like to be disturbed when she worked. But what bothered him was that their children were lost in some unknown universe and he couldn't do anything to help her. Normally at times like this, he'd vent his frustrations on Trunks, but of course Trunks wasn't around. He was lost in some unknown universe, along with Bra and the others. Vegeta fervently hoped that Bulma was right when she said that all six of them would most likely be together instead of being separated in different universes. He wouldn't admit it, but he was worried about them, especially Bra.  
  
Vegeta paced around the Capsule Corporation compound. He hated this feeling of helplessness. The quietness of the night further infuriated him. He glanced at the wall clock. It was a little after three in the morning. Bulma had been in her lab for over fifteen hours straight now. To hell with what Bulma says, Vegeta thought. 'I'll make sure she doesn't work herself to death in there.' He kicked in the lab door.  
  
True to his guessing, Bulma was annoyed (to say the least) at the interference.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she yelled at him. "Look at the door! Now I'll have to have repair it, on top of all this work--"   
  
"And if you don't stop now, I'll blast that too." Vegeta aimed his ki-glowing hand at Bulma's cluttered working table.  
  
"What?!!" Bulma's couldn't believe what she just heard. "How dare you.. I'm trying to get your children back here, or don't you care?!" she started to rant.  
  
"Of course I do," Vegeta snatched her hand and pulled her close to him. "I care about you too." It was rare that the proud prince would admit such a thing. But right now, in the privacy of his own home and no one around but his wife, he freely admitted it. And the best way to make her listen is to surprise her with something unexpected, like expressing his affection for her *in words*. True enough, she shut up, and he lectured her instead. "Look at you. If you don't start looking after yourself, you really will look like an old woman." His gaze shifted for a while, disapprovingly, to the coffee mug and ashtray full of cigarette butts belonging to his wife.   
  
Bulma bristled at the old woman remark. She knew he was right, but in moments of stress, she would inadvertently start smoking and drinking copious amounts of coffee. "Now get some sleep, or do I have to make you?" Vegeta threatened.  
  
"But the children...," Bulma's voice trailed. "I can't rest anyway until they're here safe and sound."   
  
"They'll be fine. Trunks can take care of them all until you find a way to get them home. You did say that they're most likely together wherever they are, and I believe you," Vegeta's hand started to massage Bulma's shoulder, and moving down o carress her back. Bulma, who had by now slumped her head over his shoulder, closed her eyes and relaxed. Right now, having his hands on her skin felt so good, as was having his confidence on her scientific talents. She smiled contentedly. She hadn't realised until then how tired she was. Maybe she should take some rest now, and resume her work in the morning. In response to his touches, her hands had started to roam too. "I'll go to bed," she whispered, "provided you come with me." Vegeta smirked. "I'll make sure you get a very restful sleep," he assured her.  
  
But it was not to be. The couple suddenly found their house surrounded by the army, with heavy machinery and weaponry. A voice called out from a loudspeaker from a helicopter hovering above the Capsule Corp. building. "Attention Mr.Vegeta, so-called Prince of Vegitasei! You are hereby charged with high treason and I arrest you in the name of Emperor Pilaf, King of Earth."   
  
***  
  
Elsewhere on Earth, Emperor Pilaf's tyranny began to unleash. New laws were enacted without the people's consent, and if one dared to defy it, the punishment was harsh. By nine o'clock at night everybody must be in bed. Failure to comply would be punishable by a 1 year jail term. If you weren't properly dressed in your jammies for bedtime, it's another year in jail. Failure to brush your teeth before bed, and it's another year, plus flogging.  
  
Everywhere on Earth, the people panicked, and they suffered under these ridiculous laws. Only those who were in the remotest parts of Earth were spared. Somewhere, in a remote alpine cabin, Kuririn and #18 lay in each other's arms, blissfully oblivious to everything that's been happening for the past few days. In another remote corner of Earth, Son Goku cheerfully trains Uub, confident in the abilities of Bulma and Gohan in bringing the lost children and android back, and also unaware of the new government. Elsewhere, somebody was not so lucky. Yamucha had been arrested for staying up way past the national bedtime in a (previously legal, but not anymore) nightclub and was sentenced to three years of jail, plus flogging. (He wasn't in bed by nine, and he wasn't in his jammies, and he hadn't brushed his teeth. That was Pilaf's logic.) Yamucha cursed at the new law, but that only got him another extra year in jail.  
  
Poor people of Earth. Who will save them now?  
  
Next: ...Well, I haven't gotten that far yet. The next update will certainly not be so soon. I'm not exactly very satisfied with this chapter either, so please do send your comments. On another note, I'm thinking of changing the title of the whole story into something simpler than "The Time-travelling Adventure of the Next Gen DB Gang, and #17". Suggestions, anyone?   
  
Thanks to all who still read my fics and are patiently waiting for updates. 


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